Belgium vs Senegal FIFA World Cup 2026 Preview: Everything you need to know

World Cup - Final Stage

Seattle Stadium

Belgium vs Senegal will kick off on 1 Jul 2026 at 16:00 EST and 21:00 GMT.

Belgium vs Senegal World Cup Round of 32 preview

A timely win on MD3 was enough to secure top spot in Group G for Belgium's Red Devils. Senegal crept into the knockouts as the eighth-best third-placed side. Can the Lions of Teranga roar into the last 16?

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Underachieving Red Devils meet the Lions of Teranga

Much has been made about Belgium's Golden Generation. There are only a few names left, notably Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. The Belgians have promised much in recent tournaments but ultimately flattered to deceive. They flirted with elimination on the final day, but they eventually cruised to a 5-1 win over New Zealand, becoming the first European side since England in 1990 to win a World Cup group after failing to win the first two games. It was a welcome result, thanks to a dominant display, with Arsenal star Leandro Trossard setting the tone by scoring the first two goals.

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Slow-starting Senegal also has work to do

Like Belgium, Senegal failed to win either of their opening two games, in defeats to France and Norway. On the final day, they beat 10-man Iraq 5-0, becoming the only third-placed side to qualify with three points. Amazingly, Sadio Mane didn't score any of the five, but Villarreal star Papa Gueye did bag a brace off the bench. Senegal's matches produced a total of 14 goals, only Norway's produced more (15), so the crowd in Seattle could be in for some entertainment. They'll not relish another test against a side from Europe, however, as they've lost their last two World Cup knockout games against European opposition, namely to England and Turkey, respectively. Coach Pape Thiaw will have to manage this assignment without first-choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who has a knee sprain.

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Likely Belgium XI

Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Vanaken; Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard; De Ketelaere.

Likely Senegal XI

Diaw; Diatta, Seck, Niakhaté, Jakobs; Diarra, Gueye, Camara; Mbaye, Sarr, Mané.

Belgium vs Senegal key stats

• Following his goal and assist in the previous round, Romelu Lukaku now has more World Cup goal involvements than any other Belgium player since 1966 (G6, A2).
• Senegal’s Pape Gueye had a hand in three of his side’s five goals in the final group game (G2, A1), putting him just one goal contribution shy of the all-time Senegalese record for a player at a World Cup.
• Five of Senegal’s last six games featured over 3.5 goals.
• Senegal scored ten of their last 12 goals after the half-time break.

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Belgium 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Racing Strasbourg).

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting), Maxim de Cuyper (Brighton), Koni de Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Midfielders: Kevin de Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona).

Forwards: Charles de Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

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Senegal 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli), Yehvann Diouf (Nice), Mory Diaw (Le Havre).

Defenders: Krepin Diatta (Monaco), Antoine Mendy (Nice), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal), Moussa Niakhate (Lyon), Mamadou Sarr (Chelsea), El-Hadji Malick Diouf (West Ham United), Ismail Jakobs (Galatasaray).

Midfielders: Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Habib Diarra (Sunderland), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham), Pape Gueye (Villarreal), Lamine Camara (Monaco), Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Bara Ndiaye (Bayern Munich).

Forwards: Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr), Bamba Dieng (Lorient), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Nicolas Jackson (Bayern Munich), Assane Diao (Como), Ibrahim Mbaye (Paris St-Germain), Cherif Ndiaye (Samsunspor), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace).

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Team news & squads

Belgium vs Senegal Probable lineups

Belgium

BEL

Formation

Senegal

SEN

Senegal

SEN

Manager

• R. Garcia

Rudi Garcia has not confirmed a probable lineup for Belgium ahead of the Round of 32 clash, and no injuries or suspensions are currently listed for the Red Devils. Updates will be added closer to kick-off if the situation changes.

Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw is similarly yet to name a projected XI, with no injury or suspension concerns reported for the Lions of Teranga at this stage. Further team news will follow as the match approaches.

Form

Head-to-Head Record

No head-to-head data is available for previous meetings between Belgium and Senegal in the provided records. Tuesday's Round of 32 fixture at Seattle Stadium will be tracked as the fixture progresses.

Standings

Belgium finished as winners of Group G, while Senegal qualified from Group I in third place.