World Cup Roundup: England and Belgium Pull Off Stunning Comebacks to Reach Round of 16

Comebacks became the defining theme of the night. Under pressure, neither European team fell — both England and Belgium marched forward.

In England's star-studded squad, Harry Kane is rightly hailed as the nation's ace striker. His efficiency in crucial moments is the stabilizer of this team. In the early hours of July 2 Beijing time, facing DR Congo in their first knockout match of this World Cup, Kane's two goals helped England achieve their first-ever comeback from a first-half deficit in World Cup history, winning 2-1 to advance to the Round of 16. England will now travel to Mexico City to face Mexico.

Belgium, the European powerhouse, also eliminated Senegal after a stunning late resurgence. Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scored two goals within 2 minutes and 38 seconds before the end of regular time to force extra time. In stoppage time of extra time, Tielemans calmly converted a penalty to seal the victory over Senegal. Belgium advances to the Round of 16, where they will face the winner between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Trailing by Two at 85 Minutes, Belgium Escapes Death

The Belgium-Senegal match was full of drama. In the 25th minute, Senegal broke the deadlock — Sadio Mané sent a high curling ball from the left flank into the box, where Ismaïla Sarr's glancing header hit the post, and Diafra followed up to slot home the rebound. Diafra (22 years, 179 days) became the youngest African player ever to score in a World Cup knockout stage.

In the 51st minute, Senegal doubled their lead. Ismaïla Sarr controlled a long ball with his chest, burst into the box, and blasted it home. With that goal, Sarr brought his personal World Cup tally to five, tying Roger Milla for second among African players in World Cup goals, trailing only Ghanaian forward Asamoah Gyan's six.

Senegal had lost 3-1 to France and 3-2 to Norway in the group stage, while defeating Iraq 5-0, scoring eight goals total. Adding their two goals in this match, Senegal became the first African nation in history to score 10 goals in a single World Cup.

But in the dying moments of the match, Senegal's defense suddenly faltered as Belgium scored twice to level the score. In the 86th minute, Thomas Meunier sent a low cross from the right side of the box, and Lukaku got on the end of it at the near post, slotting home from a tight angle to pull one back for Belgium!

In the 89th minute, Leandro Trossard assisted Tielemans with a header to make it 2-2.

Notably, at the 70-minute mark during a hydration break, Tielemans and Trossard were seen arguing with each other — yet they ended up combining to equalize for their team.

Statistics show that Lukaku has scored 13 goals in major tournaments (World Cup + European Championship), tied for 8th among European players. This match was Lukaku's 130th appearance for Belgium, in which he has scored 92 goals — second only to Cristiano Ronaldo (145) among European players in international goals.

Thibaut Courtois, who started this match, also entered the top three for most World Cup appearances by a goalkeeper. This was his 19th World Cup appearance, tying Uruguay's Fernando Muslera, behind only Hugo Lloris of France (20) and Manuel Neuer (23).

Belgium became the first team in World Cup history to come back from a two-goal deficit after the 85th minute.

Belgium's experience and resilience carried them through. As extra time approached stoppage time, Tielemans was brought down in the box. VAR intervened and awarded Belgium a penalty. Tielemans stepped up and converted to seal a 3-2 victory.

Kane's Third World Cup Brace

England fell behind in the 7th minute to DR Congo, and with the opposing goalkeeper making save after save, they went into halftime trailing 0-1. In World Cup history, England had never come back from a halftime deficit to win. But when it mattered most, Kane stepped up, scoring two goals in the "fourth quarter" to lead the Three Lions to a 2-1 comeback victory. England also secured their third consecutive World Cup knockout win over an African team.

In the 75th minute, Declan Rice chipped the ball from the byline to the far post. Anthony Gordon controlled it and sent a lofted pass, with Kane peeling off his marker to head home from the center of the box. In the 86th minute, Jude Bellingham drove into the box and saw his shot saved, but Gordon collected the loose ball and fed Kane, who turned, shifted right to create space, and unleashed a fierce right-footed drive into the top corner. England had finally completed the 2-1 comeback.

Alan Shearer, the legendary striker watching from the stands, praised his successor after the match: "France has Mbappé, Argentina has Messi. And our big man (Harry Kane) stepped up when England needed him most. What a phenomenal performance!"

Statistics show that since 2018, Kane has scored three braces in the World Cup, second only to Kylian Mbappé (6). Kane has now scored five goals in World Cup knockout stages for England, ranking second all-time behind Gary Lineker's six. Lineker scored a brace against Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup knockout stage, making Kane the first English player since Lineker to score a brace in a World Cup knockout match.

Kane also stands alone in second place among European players for most goals in major tournaments (World Cup + European Championship). His 20 goals trail only Ronaldo's 24 and lead Miroslav Klose and Mbappé's 19. In the past season, Kane has scored 72 goals for club and country combined, behind only Lionel Messi's 82 in 2011-2012 and tied with Gerd Müller's 1972-1973 season for second in history.

English media are hoping Kane can compete with Messi and Mbappé for the World Cup Golden Boot. "Both of them have been outstanding so far in the tournament, and plenty of other players too."

Kane remained calm: "Honestly, these are things you in the media do — comparing us, putting us up there. It looks like everyone's playing well in this tournament. For me, I just want to do everything I can to help the team move forward. Helping the team win with two goals today, I'm very happy about that."

Kane also said he hasn't paid attention to the record of captaining England for the 91st time: "As for the captaincy record, the names you mentioned are all legends. I think it's hard for me to fully digest that, especially during the tournament — you just focus on the matches. But when you take a moment and see yourself among these legendary names in English football history, it's definitely something I'm incredibly grateful for."

England's Next Challenge: Host Nation Mexico

Statistics show that across 8 World Cup qualifiers and 4 World Cup matches, Thomas Tuchel (11 wins, 1 draw) became the second England manager in the 21st century after Roy Hodgson to remain unbeaten in his first 12 competitive matches. Tuchel substituted on Gordon and Bukayo Saka for Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke at halftime, and Gordon went on to assist both of Kane's goals, becoming the first substitute in World Cup knockout history to provide two assists in a single match. The adjustment proved decisive.

Tuchel praised his team's resilience: "All the credit should go to the team, because I felt they never doubted, so I had no reason to doubt either. I was trying to help them on the sidelines, read the game, find solutions, help them meet the challenge. It was a tough situation because we were behind. But the team deserves all the credit — we kept pressing, kept doing the right things with belief, kept looking for ways to win."

England will travel to Mexico City to face the hosts in the Round of 16. Tuchel was asked about the infamous 'Hand of God' history but emphasized the team would fight to the end: "Mexico, the Estadio Azteca — this will be one of the toughest Round of 16 matches you could face. High altitude, home crowd, strong opponents, yet to concede a goal... we can list many difficulties, but we're ready for this challenge because it's an exciting one. No matter how tough, we'll give it everything."

Kane also weighed in on the upcoming clash: "Facing Mexico in Mexico — that's probably one of the biggest matchups in the World Cup. The atmosphere will be incredible, it'll be tough in many ways. But at the end of the day, if you want to be world champion, you have to get through these tough matches."

"Two good teams, Mexico playing at home, so we have to be ready. But right now, I just want to enjoy this moment, recover well, relax, and soon my attention will turn to Sunday's match."