Key events
Half-time substitution Belgium are bringing on Romelu Lukaka for Charles De Ketalaere.
Half time: Belgium 0-1 Senegal
Habib Diarra’s goal has given Senegal a deserved lead in Seattle. They’ve been slick, purposeful and have played with just the right amount of swagger. Belgium could do with a bit more swagger – they look lost.
45+5 min In fact it was De Cuyper who took it, lashing a shot into the wall.
45+4 min Doku is fouled 25 yards from goal. No idea who’ll take this.
45+1 min Five minutes of added time.
45 min: Good save by Diaw!
Belgium take a short corner on the left and work the ball infield to De Cuyper. He whips a curler from 25 yards that is pawed round the post by the diving Diaw. A save he should make, but still a good one.
44 min “Saw Sparklehorse live at the Hackney Empire in ’98” writes Gregory Phillips. “What a band. And Hammering the Cramps should the perfect pick-me-up for footballers in the 80th minute.”
43 min Better from Belgium. De Bruyne controls an awkward ball superbly on the chest and finds Doku on the right. His cross takes a big ricochet off Jakobs and is held smartly by the leaping Diaw.
42 min “Hello Rob,” writes Kári Tulinius. “While I love Animal Collective, even I must admit that their ‘paint’ era is musical marmite. That said, I really like Goalkeeper, off The Painters, which starts as if it’s going to be a metaphor, but turns out to be actually about goalkeepers. Lord knows they need their own anthem.”
I’m sad that Pavement never wrote a song called Peter Shilton.
41 min A decent spell of possession for Belgium. Eventually De Cuyper finds a bit of space on the left side of the area; his cutback, alas, finds a Senegal defender.
38 min I think Diarra’s goal is the eighth by a Sunderland player at this World Cup, a tally exceeded only by the players of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. How good is that?
37 min Mane plays a give-and-go with Diarra and hits a shot on the stretch from 15 yards that is held by Courtois. Senegal look so good.
33 min Doku goes down 25 yards from goal but is told to get up by the referee. Belgium are really struggling to create openings, never mind chances.
31 min The match resumes… and then stops while stewards wheeze their way after a pitch invader. They get their man eventually.
27 min It’s 16 degrees in Seattle, and it’s time for the JR Hartley Hydration Break.
Sadio Mane used the underlapping Jakobs by not using him, then flipped a cross from the left towards Ismaila Sarr, whose excellent flicked header bounced off the far post. Habib Diarra – Sunderland’s Habib Diarra, if you don’t mind – was first to the rebound and had a simple finish. Senegal fully deserve their lead.
GOAL! Belgium 0-1 Senegal (Diarra 25)
It’s been coming, and here it is.
23 min Pape Gueye deftly makes some space on the edge of the area but then overhits his cross. Right now Senegal are the better team.
21 min “Sparklehorse Schmarkelhorse,” writes Kimberley Thonger. “Rob I think it’s pretty obvious that the most overlooked song for national football anthem is Wire’s Outdoor Miner
“Football players ply their trade outdoors. They mine goals. It’s an easy tune to sing. And the lyrics are so wonderfully surreal, they can be applied to virtually any circumstance in which the England team, especially this one, finds itself.
No blind spots in the leopard’s eyes
Can only help to jeopardize
The lives of lambs, the shepherd criesAn outdoor life for a silverfish
Eternal dust less ticklish
Than the clean room, a houseguest’s wishHe lies on his side, is he trying to hide?
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birthHe lies on his side, is he trying to hide?
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birthFace worker, a serpentine miner
A roof falls, an under-liner
Of leaf structure, the egg timerHe lies on his side, is he trying to hide?
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birthHe lies on his side, is he trying to hide?
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birthHe lies on his side, is he trying to hide? (he lies on his side)
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birth (is he trying to hide?)He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? (he lies on his side)
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birth (is he trying to hide?)He lies on his side, is he trying to hide? (he lies on his side)
In fact it’s the earth, which he’s known since birth (is he trying to hide?)
It’s a fine song, but I’d like it more if it wasn’t an obvious Elastica rip-off.
19 min Senegal are slowly taking control of this game. Diatta wins the first corner, though nothing comes of it.
18 min Diatta’s cross is headed away by Castagne, straining every sinew. Idrissa Gueye runs onto the loose ball and rakes a half-volley that is comfortably held by Courtois.
Belgium go straight down the other end and De Bruyne endangers low-flying aircraft from 25 yards.
15 min “Seattle is famously much further north than the majority of Canada’s population,” says Andrew Goudie. “And to travel to Canada from Detroit, you should go south. These are two of my favourite geography facts.”
They’re also two of mine, as of about 30 seconds ago.
13 min: Sarr hits the post!
Eek, how did that stay out? Jakobs bursts down the left and clips a fabulous cross towards Ismaila Sarr at the far post. The diving Courtois gets a slight touch on the ball and Sarr, despite reacting pretty smartly, can only drag the ball against the right-hand post. He has another go at the rebound, while lying on the ground, and puts it into the side netting.
That was some cross from Jakobs, almost perfect.
11 min This is a really fun game. Iliman Ndiaye receives Diarra’s pass on the right and hits a brilliant cross that is crying out for the Keith Houchen treatment. Alas for Senegal, there’s nobody in there.
9 min Trossard screws a shot from the edge of the area that is comfortably held by Diaw. Moments before that, De Ketelaere used the overlapping Castagne by not using him but then dithered for a split-second and was well challenged.
6 min Trossard gets away on the right and drives a cutback that is also cut out. Belgium’s contrasting wide forwards, Doku and Trossard, are such an important part of their team.
4 min “I agree with Simon McMahon about the match timings,” writes Andy Gordon, “and trying to figure out the conversion into Central European Time whilst on holiday meant I was sitting on my own in a restaurant with a TV two hours before the England kick off this afternoon. France and Pixies for me.”
3 min Doku zips into the area from the left and slides a low cross that is cut out. Both sides have started brightly.
1 min Peep peep! Belgium kick off from left to right as we watch. This could be a cracker.
A reminder of the teams, who are entering the field as I type
Belgium (poss 4-2-3-1) Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Vanaken; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere.
Subs: Lammens, Penders, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Ngoy, Witsel, Moreira, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Onana, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo.
Senegal (poss 4-3-3) Diaw; Diatta, Ciss, Niakhate, Jacobs; Diarra, I Gueye, P Gueye; I Ndiaye, I Sarr, Mane.
Subs: Diouf, M Sarr, Koulibaly, Seck, Mendy, Malick Diouf, Camara, P Sarr, B Ndiaye, Diao, Dieng, Jackson, C Ndiaye, Mbaye.
Referee Said Martinez (Honduras).
“Well, I’m going to come right out and say that I’ve never heard of Sparklehorse,” says Charles Antaki. “There; that’s me disqualified as an aging hipster, or a hipster of any variety. So I looked them up, and there’s a couple of videos online which feature faux-naif montages (at least I assume they are faux), one of them unfortunately featuring many shots of a man in clown make-up wearing a Stetson. Anyway: the music is rather beguiling, in a rather melancholy way. Good for the calm-down after the England excitement and associated hoo-hah.”
If you’re calling me a hipster, Charles, your vocabulary is nowhere near as precise as I thought. As for Sparklehorse, there’s a discordant beauty to his music that I adore. Not to everyone’s taste though.
The route to glory for Belgium and Senegal
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Last 16 USA/Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Quarter-final Spain/Austria/Portugal/Croatia
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Semi-final Paraguay/France/Canada/Morocco
Blimey department
In the parlance of our time, Tottenham are not messing around this summer.
“Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “Not sure what to make of this extended World Cup so far. Been some good games, and performances, but the UK timings have made it difficult for me to feel fully involved. Except when Scotland beat Haiti at 4am and the bottom of my whisky bottle told me we were going to bring it home. Glad to see African teams doing well, and the host countries, but it’s France’s to lose, isn’t it?”
I still think Spain will win it, but I also think Sparklehorse are the greatest band of all time and I doubt that opinion would find favour down the local.
David Hytner
Thomas Tuchel’s mission to put a second World Cup star on the England shirt did not look as though it would reach the second knockout round. On a fraught and chaotic occasion in Atlanta, his team flirted aggressively with disaster. For 75 minutes, England mixed loose defending with an inability to take their chances. Which were plentiful. The Democratic Republic of the Congo goalkeeper, Lionel Mpasi, had the game of his life. Who needs Lionel Messi.
It was easy for England’s long-suffering fans to feel their minds being taken to dark places. Iceland 2016, anyone? They had only ever lost once to an African team – to Senegal in a friendly in June of last year. The DRC, who have brought the romance to this tournament, a team to unite a war-torn nation, led through Brian Cipenga’s seventh-minute goal. They were primed to do something utterly extraordinary.
At which point Harry Kane decided that enough was enough. The England captain was not ready to go home, to be buried under an avalanche of awful headlines. He kept the faith. If he could get another chance, he told himself he would take it.
Team news
Belgium stick the team that thrashed New Zealand 5-1. Senegal make three changes from their 5-0 win over Iraq. Pathe Ciss, Iliman Ndiaye and Pape Gueye replace Abdoulaye Seck, Ibrahim Mbaye and Lamine Camara
Belgium (poss 4-2-3-1) Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Vanaken; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere.
Subs: Lammens, Penders, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Ngoy, Witsel, Moreira, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Onana, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo.
Senegal (poss 4-3-3) Diaw; Diatta, Ciss, Niakhate, Jacobs; Diarra, I Gueye, P Gueye; I Ndiaye, I Sarr, Mane.
Subs: Diouf, M Sarr, Koulibaly, Seck, Mendy, Malick Diouf, Camara, P Sarr, B Ndiaye, Diao, Dieng, Jackson, C Ndiaye, Mbaye.
Referee Said Martinez (Honduras).
Will Unwin
We can all agree the Geopolitics World Cup has gone on far too long, so Football Daily is pleased to announce it is over. It monopolises everyone’s time, changes sleeping, eating and drinking patterns, leaving everyone tired and poorer. No one wants to stay up for further 2am BST kick-offs or attempt to watch a couple of games a day. Frankly, the process has been completely futile since the first ball was kicked. France have won the tournament; no one can compete with their arousing front four who are, frankly, better than anything else on the planet.
This is the first game of day 21 at the World Cup, with USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina to follow. Ach, who am I kidding.
Ben Fisher
Belgium had just beaten New Zealand 5-1 to secure top spot in Group G and, at least in theory, an easier last-32 draw, but Rudi Garcia was evidently irked. In response to the first question in a curt post-match press conference, he adjusted the microphone to ensure his point was heard.
“I really didn’t appreciate them being called has-beens,” he said, alluding to an article in La Libre, a French-language Belgian newspaper, that compared Kevin De Bruyne to a washed-up Hollywood actor after a flat display against Iran in their previous match in Los Angeles.
“When a nation has players of that calibre, you support them,” Garcia added, praising the performances of his “four leaders” in De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Leandro Trossard, who scored twice against New Zealand; Trossard’s opener represented the first goal Belgium scored themselves at the tournament (after an own goal against Egypt) at the 45th attempt after more than 200 minutes of labouring.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Belgium v Senegal in Seattle. In its own quiet way, this is one of the more intriguing games in the last 32, largely because it involves two teams whose level isn’t entirely clear.
Belgium, 10th in the world rankings, have endured a painfully slow comedown since their Golden Generation reached the semi-final in 2018, but any team that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Youri Tielemans, Thibaut Courtois nd Leandro Trossard is surely worth a damn.
Senegal (18th) were one of the hipster picks going into the World Cup. They’re unofficial champions of Africa and beat England handsomely in Nottingham a year ago. But they were drawn in a very tough group and lost to France and Norway before walloping Iraq to progress as one of the best third-place teams.
The United States or Bosnia and Herzegovina await in the last 16. Right here, right now, all four teams will fancy their chances of making the quarter-finals.
Kick off 1pm local/4pm EDT/9pm BST/6am AEST
