Rudi Garcia Slams Senegal After Belgium's Extra-Time Win

Rudi Garcia's Comments on Senegal Raise Eyebrows

Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia pulled no punches after the final whistle. He suggested that teams like Senegal tend to lose their tactical shape late in matches once they've built a lead and pointed directly to how the game unfolded as evidence.

"We know these teams; they lose their tactical structure towards the end of the match," Garcia said in his postgame press conference. "We also knew that at 2-0, they would do anything to protect their goal, which, in my opinion, is a mistake."

Those are the kinds of comments that are easier to make from the winning side. Senegal controlled large portions of the match, got goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr and hit the post twice.

They did plenty right before the game slipped away from them. Garcia seemed to acknowledge the weight of the moment, too, when reflecting on how quickly the match turned.

"Remind me not to do that when I'm winning 2-0… Because when they conceded a goal like the one that made it 2-1, the very soul of the match changed. Then, it was great to score in stoppage time of extra time, with a very justified penalty," he added.

Senegal exited the tournament as the fourth African nation to fall in the round of 32, joining South Africa, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Belgium moves on to face co-hosts the United States in the next round, with that game set for Monday in Seattle.