With Belgium’s comeback against Senegal, the tournament reaches 11 matches won by teams that trailed and surpasses the record set in the 2002 World Cup. The 2026 World Cup set a new historic record for the competition this Wednesday (1st). Following Belgium’s 3-2 comeback victory over Senegal in the Round of 16, the tournament reached 11 matches where the winning team came from behind, the highest mark ever recorded in a single edition of the World Cup. The previous record belonged to the 2002 World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan, which featured nine comebacks throughout the competition.
It set a new record. The 2026 edition matched this mark last Monday (29th), when Brazil defeated Japan 2-1 after conceding the first goal of the match. On Wednesday, England placed the tournament solely in the lead of this statistic by defeating the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1, also coming from behind. Hours later, Belgium extended the record. The European team found themselves trailing 2-0 to Senegal, managed to equalize within regular time, and secured a 3-2 victory in extra time, marking the 11th comeback of the World Cup.
The 11 comebacks. According to a survey conducted by O Globo, only matches where a team conceded the first goal and ended up victorious at the end of regular time or extra time were considered. Games decided by penalties were not included in the count. The 11 comebacks of the 2026 World Cup are: South Korea 2 x 1 Czechia, Morocco 4 x 2 Haiti, Germany 2 x 1 Ivory Coast, Egypt 3 x 1 New Zealand, Algeria 2 x 1 Jordan, Ecuador 2 x 1 Germany, Turkey 3 x 2 United States, DR Congo 3 x 1 Uzbekistan, Brazil 2 x 1 Japan, England 2 x 1 DR Congo, Belgium 3 x 2 Senegal (after extra time). In addition to setting a new historic mark, the 2026 World Cup could still extend this record, as the tournament is ongoing with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final yet to be played.
