Senegal head coach, Pape Thiaw, has admitted they lost 3-2 to Belgium, because they were so desperate to preserve their lead.
The Teranga Lions went two goals up in their last-32 clash at the 2026 World Cup, before eventually crashing out.
Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr put Thiaw’s men in front, but Belgium fought back to score twice late in the second half through Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans and forced the game into extra time.
With few seconds left to a penalty shoot-out, Rudi Garcia’s men were awarded a late spot-kick, which Tielemans calmly converted.
Thiaw said: ”We had the match in hand, winning 2-0, and then we backed off a little towards the end; we wanted to hold onto the score.
“Once we conceded 2-1, we retreated even more and they scored their second goal.
“It wasn’t easy; we tried to lift their spirits and bring more energy to the team.
“It’s not easy because they gave it their all; we wanted to qualify for the people.”