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A seesawing classic of a contest had just ticked into the 122nd ­minute, penalties all but a formality, when the referee, Saíd Martínez, wandered back towards the centre circle to award Belgium a stoppage-time penalty. The VAR, Guillermo Pacheco Larios, had highlighted Lamine Kamara swiping away Youri Tielemans’s left ankle in the seconds before Dodi Lukébakio had skimmed the crossbar. For Belgium, it was a get out of jail card, Tielemans converting the spot-kick to propel Rudi Garcia’s side into the last 16. After 85 minutes, they trailed Senegal 2-0.

Just as it seemed Belgium would join Germany and the Netherlands in the World Cup departures lounge, Garcia’s side rallied to take an entertaining game to extra time. With an early exit and second-half stoppage time looming, Romelu Lukaku, a half-time substitute, and Tielemans scored a goal apiece as Belgium struck twice in three minutes to cancel out goals by Habib Diarra and Ismaïla Sarr.

What was the moment that flipped this match? Perhaps it was the stern words Tielemans exchanged with Leandro Trossard during the second-half drinks break? In truth, it was hard not to point towards the obvious: Garcia’s raft of substitutes, and not the ones who emptied on the pitch after Tielemans’s 89th-minute equaliser. Garcia himself was booked amid the celebrations. Lukaku replaced the ineffective Charles De Ketelaere and had a slow-burn impact, eventually making his presence felt, converting another substitute Thomas Meunier’s cross at the front post

Lukebakio also made his mark from the bench, the Benfica winger introduced in place of Jérémy Doku who flattered to deceive. Another sub, Nico Raskin, played mediator when Trossard and Tielemans took each other to task. Raskin replaced Kevin De Bruyne, who was reduced to playing cheerleader early in the second half as Belgium sought to change rhythm and encouraged his teammates at 2-1.

Things would have been very different had, with only six minutes of regular time remaining, Thibaut Courtois not prevented Senegal making it 3-0. Sadio Mané was influential in Diarra’s opener, but hunting a goal himself he was denied when Courtois clambered down to his right. Five minutes later, Belgium restored parity, Tielemans building on Lukaku’s smart finish with a brave header after meeting Trossard’s cross. Tielemans had instructed Trossard exactly where to deliver the ball, pointing to the space behind Moussa Niakhaté, and the Aston Villa midfielder, sandwiched between Niakhaté and Ismail Jakobs, soared high to beat Mory Diaw, the Senegal goalkeeper again deputising for Édouard Mendy, to the punch.

There was an element of the unknown to Belgium in the buildup to this game. What, really, could a 5-1 win over a leaky New Zealand tell us? That victory was the first time Garcia’s side had truly clicked at this tournament but given the opposition – New Zealand represented the competition’s lowest-ranked team – obvious caveats accompanied that free-scoring display. Just how hot were Belgium running coming into this match-up with fearless opposition? The initial evidence was lukewarm at best, some early enterprise extinguished by a strong Senegal defence.

But Belgium trailed by the time they really seemed to recognise this was a knockout. They could not say they were not warned. Sarr struck a post on 12 minutes after his sharp instincts presented him with the chance to prod in from close range. Courtois got a weak left hand to Jakobs’s deflected first-time cross but the Crystal Palace forward, scrambling on the turf as mid-assault course, found the woodwork and, off balance, could only scoop the rebound against the side-netting.

There was a whiff of deja vu in the buildup to Senegal’s opener midway through the first half. Sarr’s clever header from Mané’s cross cannoned against the same post but this time Diarra was on hand to send the ball past Courtois from the edge of the six-yard box. Diarra saluted the dancing Senegalese supporters in the crowd as Garcia urged calm. Seven white Belgium shirts stood on the halfway line itching to right the wrongs but things could have got worse for them after Mané exchanged passes with Diarra, only for Mané to rattle a tame shot at Courtois.

Belgium struggled to stem Senegal’s flow. Diarra shanked wide after Mané beat Timothy Castagne and a minute later Sarr put Senegal in dreamland. Niakhaté flighted a diagonal ball towards the edge of Belgium’s 18-yard box and what happened next was a thing of beauty. At first glance Sarr had a lot to do. He was prey for three Belgium defenders but, crucially, he had the run on Arthur Theate. Other players may have been crowded out but Sarr read the pass and controlled the ball on his chest before allowing the ball to bounce and smacking past Courtois with his next touch. At that point, a Belgium victory appeared most unlikely.