Senegal Meet Belgium and Lukaku With a World Cup Statement to Make
Senegal saved their best for last in the group stage, thumping Iraq 5-0 in a performance emphatic enough to carry the Lions of Teranga into the knockout rounds as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams. Now the reward is a marquee meeting with Belgium in Seattle.
That scoreline was the release of everything Senegal had promised but not always delivered earlier in the group. The West African side blend athletic, aggressive defending with pace and power in the final third, and when it clicks, as it did against Iraq, few teams in the competition are more physically imposing.
Standing in their way is a Belgium team led by Romelu Lukaku, whose tally of World Cup goal involvements makes him one of the most productive forwards his country has produced in decades. Belgium topped their group and bring the kind of tournament pedigree that Senegal will have to withstand — and then overcome.
The tie is a classic contrast: Africa's muscular, front-foot ambition against Europe's polish and know-how. Senegal, African champions in recent memory, do not lack for belief; they have beaten Europe's best on this stage before and know the margins in these games are razor-thin.
Win, and Senegal keep alive an African campaign that has already rewritten the record books. Their supporters will travel in force, and if the version of Senegal that dismantled Iraq turns up again, Belgium and Lukaku will know they have been in a fight.
