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Belgium's Stunning Comeback After Dramatic VAR Call

Thursday, July 2, 2026
5 min read
Belgium's Stunning Comeback After Dramatic VAR Call

Belgium pulled off something huge in that World Cup 2026 game. A real comeback story after everything. It all hinged on a really dramatic VAR call deep into stoppage time of extra time against Senegal in the Round of 32 match over in Seattle.

They were down two goals, fighting back for every second before things got wild. You could almost see them heading to a penalty shootout. Then referee Saíd Martínez just points to the spot in the 122nd minute after that VAR review landed.

Why did they do that? It felt like it was going to be an absolute nail-biter, you know?

The actual moment happened when Dodi Lukebakio whipped in a cross from the left side at the 117th minute. Midfielder Youri Tielemans moved into the box trying to get involved. And then Lamine Camara caught him on the back of his left foot while he was trying to challenge for the ball.

Play kept going, nothing seemed wrong on the field itself. But then Video Assistant Referee Guillermo Pacheco Larios stepped in. He told Martínez to check it out.

After looking at the pitchside monitor things flipped. The referee wiped away his original call and awarded Belgium a penalty.

Tielemans just ignored all the shouting from the Senegalese players. He calmly took the spot-kick. And boom. A stunning victory for the Red Devils. It sealed that comeback, right there.

Was it even fair? That’s the million-dollar question hanging over it all.

Under the rules of the game the IFAB stuff a foul has to be careless or reckless, tripping someone inside the box. Replays showed Camara just made contact with Tielemans' foot from behind. Not a hard hit. It didn't even touch the ball really. But it stopped him trying to play that cross.

So VAR looked at it and decided something else entirely. They felt the referee had missed something big. An obvious error, they said, not giving the penalty. That decision totally changed everything. It capped an incredible turnaround when Belgium was down 2-0 with so little time left on the clock. Goals from Tielemans and captain Romelu Lukaku dragged them into extra time. Then that ice-cool penalty just sent them into the knockout stage.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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