After leading Belgium to a stunning 3-2 comeback victory over Senegal, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia gave an interview to beIN Sports.

Thank you, Rudi Garcia, for giving us this interview. Football is indeed crazy—we say it often, but we just witnessed it again. It was cruel for Senegal and spectacular for Belgium, but the gap between the two teams was actually quite small.

Yes, that's true. Football is a tapestry of emotion, and tonight's emotions were extraordinary. For me, the greatest reward is seeing my players so happy, celebrating on the pitch with the Belgian fans who came to Seattle. I'm also thinking of the 12 million Belgians who must be very happy tonight and proud of their national team. How shall I put it—our start wasn't ideal because we lost possession too much in the first half, always trying to play dangerous passes from too far away, and we didn't execute our tactical plan well. But from the middle of the first half, we found our rhythm again. Conceding the second goal was a major blow, but as I told the players during the hydration break in the second half, the key was scoring the third goal of the match. Because if it stays 2-1, the game becomes competitive again. You know how football works—when you're 2-0 up and it becomes 2-1, you suddenly fear losing the advantage. And they did lose it because we believed until the end. I told them that even if we were down 0-2 in the 90th minute, we could still score two goals and take the match to extra time. In the end, we scored a bit earlier—in the 85th minute and then a few minutes later. The subsequent extra time was back-and-forth, like boxers fighting to the 15th round, with both sides battling for control. They had chances, and we had some good opportunities too. In the end, the referee gave a clear penalty. To be honest, since the start of this tournament, we haven't had much luck with decisions, but fortunately, this one was given, and Tielemans, under pressure, converted the penalty to send us to the Round of 16. Now we'll see whether our next opponent is the host nation, the United States, or Bosnia and Herzegovina led by Dzeko. I'd be happy to see Dzeko again because I coached him when I was at Roma.

One last question. We often see you taking notes on the sideline—it's a habit of yours, both in Ligue 1 and at Roma. Can you tell us what's in your notebook? Some say it's an emotional arc, recording your feelings during the match, or is it tactical instructions? Why do you write so much?

I also prepare substitutions. That's very important; substitutions must not be mistakes. I'm very aware of the strength on the bench. If I had to sum up today's match, it was a team victory. Because I know there are many options on the bench. The midfield has physical and height advantages, and although these advantages are slightly weaker in defense, they can still do their job. Up front, there's pace, and there are many talented players on the bench. So when the starting lineup isn't working well, my job is to make adjustments. I'm very satisfied tonight because Lukaku helped us score after coming on as a substitute for the third consecutive time. He scored two goals himself and once forced an own goal from a Senegal defender. I love my players very much; this is a team I really like, so I hope we can go further because they deserve it. We experienced an incredible emotional moment. Now we need to enjoy this and recover, because playing 120 minutes is truly exhausting.

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