Belgium looks to avoid fate of fellow European teams in knockout round match against Senegal

SEATTLE (AP) — By advancing to the knockout round atop Group G, Belgium has already improved upon its woeful performance at the World Cup four years ago.

After a historic third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Belgium did not advance past the group stage in 2022 in Qatar. With its 5-1 victory over New Zealand on Friday night, Belgium won its group and achieved what coach Rudi Garcia wanted from his club.

Ahead of Wednesday’s knockout round match against Senegal, Garcia expressed satisfaction with his group’s accomplishments, as well as a desire for more. Belgium won one game and played to two draws in group play.

“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” Garcia said in French. “Of course we wanted to win more — we know the story of our World Cup so far. Now it is time for the knockout phase. Senegal is a big team. But, you have to beat them, too, if you want to go far in a World Cup.”

For Belgium’s participation in the tournament to be considered a success, it must first get by a Senegal team that finished third in Group I with three points and a plus-2 goal differential. The African team navigated one of the toughest groups in the tournament, one that featured favorite France and the Erling Haaland-led Norway.

“We know it will be a tough match,” Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku said Monday in French. “Senegal has a lot of top-level players, and the coach is, too. I think it’s 50-50. We really shouldn’t underestimate them.”

Given what transpired in the round of 32 shortly after Lukaku’s comments, Belgium would be wise to heed his warning. Germany lost to unheralded Paraguay on penalties while Morocco sent the Netherlands to its earliest World Cup exit on Monday night.

Belgium is aware that even as the odds-on pick to beat Senegal, it must be careful on Wednesday. Otherwise, it could fall victim to the same fate as its European counterparts.

“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” said Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere. “We have confidence and need to be sharp. Yesterday showed that it doesn’t matter if you are the favorite.”

Senegal, meanwhile, hopes it has the offensive firepower to score against stingy Belgium, which has allowed two goals in three games with star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in net. Led by Sadio Mane, Senegal is coming off a 5-0 rout of Iraq.

But, Senegal will also be short-handed on the defensive side. Goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, who was injured in a 3-2 loss to Norway in group play, will not be available Wednesday, according to coach Pape Thiaw. Reserve Mory Diaw, who started in Mendy’s place against Iraq, is likely to do so again.

“Mory had a great performance,” Thiaw said in French. “He kept a clean sheet and I think (as) the goalkeeper tomorrow, we hope that we’ll also come up with a clean sheet.”

Even if Senegal has to turn to Diaw, Thiaw is confident his side can pull off an upset, much like both Paraguay and Morocco did Monday.

“It’s not because you finished top of your group that you’re not going to be knocked out in the next round,” Thiaw said. “That’s exactly what happened with the Netherlands. It’s another tournament starting. We are looking for the win tomorrow so that we can continue our journey.”

Center back Zeno Debast, who has not appeared in a World Cup match this summer due to injury, will be available for Wednesday’s match, but is not expected to start, according to Garcia.

Debast participated in his first training session Monday after he had an MRI on Saturday for a left leg injury. He practiced again Tuesday with tape on his left knee.

“Zeno Debast is with the group, but tomorrow is still too soon,” Garcia said. “He is making progress, though. He still needs time to get fully fit, as was anticipated. I am very satisfied with the defenders we have already called upon.”

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Belgium's Leandro Trossard (10) celebrates his goal against New Zealand with teammates Kevin De Bruyne (7) and Charles De Ketelaere (17) during the first half of a World Cup Group G soccer match, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, June 26, 2026. (Timothy Matwey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw looks onto the pitch during the World Cup Group I soccer match between Senegal and Iraq in Toronto, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku (9) drives towards New Zealand's Francis de Vries (3) during the World Cup Group G soccer match between New Zealand and Belgium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Kaleb Tatum)

Senegal's Sadio Mane (10) plays during the World Cup Group I soccer match between Senegal and Iraq in Toronto, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia talks during a news conference on the eve of the team's World Cup soccer match against New Zealand, Thursday, June 25, 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela (AP) — Rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from a collapsed basement early Thursday, ending a grueling dayslong operation that became a symbol of hope after the devastation of twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days earlier.

Hernán Alberto Gil Flores emerged to safety atop a stretcher surrounded by helmet-clad rescue workers after being trapped since June 24 under rubble in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal town in La Guaira.

Rescuers, who initially made contact with him over the weekend, worked for more than 100 hours to free him — navigating a highly unstable structure, torrential rain and persistent aftershocks to tunnel down to the survivor.

Teams carrying flags from around the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil Flores, wearing an oxygen mask and covered in an orange tarp, through throngs of people to an ambulance.

One Chilean rescuer carrying his stretcher pumped his fist in joy. A group of men in red Costa Rican Red Cross uniforms embraced and laughed in relief. Others broke out into applause.

“When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife that he was alive, just in case he wouldn’t make it,” Costa Rican Red Cross rescuer Minyar Collado told The Associated Press, but she added “We were never going to leave him here.”

The rescue was considered a small miracle cutting through a week of tragedy. By supplying Gil Flores with food and water while they excavated the concrete, rescue teams were able to keep him alive far longer than the 48- to 72-hour threshold most operations give to find survivors in disasters.

Gil Flores, who worked as a night-shift security guard at the complex, was inside his small security cabin when the first violent tremor struck. While the surrounding concrete structure collapsed around him, his cabin held ground, shielding him from crushing debris and creating a vital pocket of air.

A specialized team from the Costa Rican Red Cross first detected signs of life and established contact with him Sunday.

His wife, Gusbimar González, told the AP that she grappled with despair for days before hearing that rescuers made contact.

“When I learned he was alive, I saw a ray of light in the darkness," she said. The couple has two children, ages 8 and 10.

The operation was coordinated by an urban search and rescue team of Chilean firefighters, who worked around the clock with specialized teams from the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Venezuela.

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez celebrated the rescue on social media at a time that her government has come under fire for what many Venezuelans say has been an inadequate crisis response.

“We celebrate the greatness of humanity, when it is united for a single purpose: to save another. Thank you to our rescuers and to the support of the international rescuers,” she wrote on a post on X.

Teams used a telescopic camera to help maintain constant contact with Gil Flores, passing water and liquid nutrients through a narrow shaft to keep him hydrated during the final three days of the rescue.

María Paz Campos, a veteran firefighter from Chile, talked him through the entire operation and kept him calm during the final excruciating hours Thursday.

In a video published by Chilean firefighters in the hours before the rescue, Gil Flores is seen drawing, seemingly to pass the time. Campos then gently tells him to look at the camera and to wear protective goggles.

“I need you to keep the goggles on, for the small particles that are falling, to avoid them getting into your eye,” Campos told the Venezuelan survivor.

The collapse of the building was triggered by two back-to-back earthquakes on June 24 that registered magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively. The shallow, violent tremors damaged or destroyed tens of thousands of buildings across northern Venezuela, killing more than 2,200 people, injuring over 11,000 and leaving La Guaira state as the hardest-hit region in the country.

Associated Press video journalists Andry Rincón and Brayan Antequero contributed to this report.

Rescue workers carry Hernán Alberto Gil Flores Gil after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Rescue workers carry Hernán Alberto Gil Flores Gil after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Chilean rescue workers carry Hernán Alberto Gil Flores after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Rescue workers carry Alberto Gil after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela. in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Rescue workers carry Alberto Gil after he was pulled from the rubble eight days after he was trapped by twin earthquakes that struck Catia La Mar, Venezuela. in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)