Africa’s World Cup story took a painful turn on Wednesday as DR Congo and Senegal both suffered a heartbreaking World Cup exit within hours of each other, each side surrendering a commanding lead in the Round of 32.
DR Congo, ranked 46th in the world, stunned England early in Atlanta. Brian Cipenga put the Leopards ahead in the seventh minute, latching onto a long ball from Chancel Mbemba before beating goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post, according to a match report by CNN.
The lead held for long spells, and for a while a shock World Cup exit looked more likely for England than for Congo. Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi produced a string of saves to deny Jude Bellingham twice before half-time, then clawed away another deflected effort after the break, CNN reported. Yoane Wissa also came close to doubling Congo’s advantage when his effort struck the post in the first half.
England eventually found a route back into the match. Substitute Anthony Gordon supplied the cross for captain Harry Kane, whose headed effort in the 75th minute levelled the score, Africanews reported, citing the Associated Press. Kane struck again eleven minutes later, sending a shot into the top corner to complete a 2-1 win and send England through to the Round of 16.
It was a bitter World Cup exit for a Congo side making history. The team had never before won or scored at a World Cup, and Wednesday’s match came 52 years after the country’s only previous appearance, as Zaire, at the 1974 tournament in West Germany, Africanews reported.
Congo coach Sebastien Desabre said his players had done enough to believe an upset was possible. “We’re disappointed because we really believed we could do it,” he said, according to Africanews. He added that his side had played well before conceding two late chances to one of the world’s best players.
Hours later in Seattle, Senegal suffered an even more dramatic World Cup exit. The Lions of Teranga led Belgium 2-0 with Habib Diarra opening the scoring in the 24th minute and Ismaila Sarr doubling the advantage in the 51st minute, ESPN reported.
Belgium responded with a stunning late rally. Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back in the 86th minute, and Youri Tielemans levelled the score three minutes later to force extra time, according to CNN. Tielemans then converted a contested penalty deep into extra time, at 124 minutes and 44 seconds, the latest goal in World Cup history, to complete Belgium’s 3-2 win, the Irish Times reported.
Senegal midfielder Diarra said the result was hard to accept, telling Africanews that a good first half performance was not enough over the full 90 minutes.
Defender Krepin Diatta credited Belgium’s fightback but said Senegal had let the game slip through their own hands, telling reporters the team had to give everything in tight moments inside the box.
Senegal’s World Cup exit ended a campaign that had briefly looked shaky after group stage defeats to France and Norway, before a 5-0 win over Iraq secured their place among the best third placed teams.
The double World Cup exit leaves Morocco as the last North African flag bearer in the later rounds, after the Atlas Lions beat the Netherlands on penalties to become the first African side through to the Round of 16. South Africa and Ivory Coast had already been eliminated earlier in the Round of 32, losing to Canada and Norway respectively.
Citinewsroom reported that four African nations remained in contention for the last 16 following Wednesday’s results, after Africa sent a record nine teams into the knockout stage of the expanded 48 team tournament.
For DR Congo and Senegal, the World Cup exit brings the curtain down on campaigns that had raised hopes of a deeper run. Both sides will now return home to reflect on leads that slipped away when it mattered most.
