Belgium and Senegal will face off on Wednesday night (11:00 p.m.) at Seattle Stadium, with a spot in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup at stake, where the winner of this matchup will face either the U.S. or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rudi Garcia’s Belgian team finished at the top of their group with five points, having scored six goals and conceded two. However, their campaign was far from convincing. They started with a 1-1 draw against Egypt, followed by a scoreless 0-0 draw with Iran, and it wasn’t until the final matchday that they showed their true colors, crushing New Zealand 5-0 and clinching first place.

Despite their inconsistency in the group stage, the “Red Devils” possess quality and experience, and they aim to replicate their 2018 run, when they finished in third place. Following their early elimination in the group stage in 2022, advancing to the Round of 16 is the first step toward putting the disappointment of the previous World Cup behind them.

They will face a tenacious Senegal team, which advanced as one of the best third-place finishers in the group stage. Pape Tiaho’s team started with two losses to France and Norway, but staged an impressive comeback in their final group match, crushing Iraq 5-0. In fact, they became the first African team to score five goals in a World Cup match.

The “Lions of Teranga” dream of repeating—and why not surpassing—their historic run in 2002, when they reached the quarterfinals. Following South Africa’s elimination, Senegal is called upon to fly the flag for Africa in the tournament.

The match is expected to be particularly close. Belgium has greater quality and creativity, but its defensive instability has already been evident in the tournament. On the other hand, Senegal has shown that it can be particularly dangerous on offense, but it will need greater defensive consistency against such a high-caliber opponent.

It’s worth noting that this will be the first-ever match between the two national teams, a fact that adds even more interest to a match with a spot in the World Cup Round of 16 at stake.

Belgium (Garcia): Courtois – Castagne, Teat, Mehele, De Keper – Vanaken, Tielemans – Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku – De Ketelaere.

Senegal (Tiaho): Diao – Jacobs, Seck, Niakate, Diatta – Kamara, Gay, Diarra – Mané, Jackson, Sar.

*photo source: AP