Senegal defeats Iraq and enters the fight for a place among the best third-place teams
Senegal beat Iraq 5-0 this Friday (26) and entered, at least momentarily, the group of eight third-placed teams that can go to the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup.
The classification cannot yet be taken for granted, as other teams will still enter the field between tonight and tomorrow. Iraq is eliminated from the World Cup.
Beginning conditions everything
The situation in Iraq started to get bad very early in the game. From the first minute, Senegal was dominant, and threatened the Iraqi goal right from the ball, with Ghana Gueye.
At 3, Seck headed the ground hard to open the scoring. The ball still bounced inside the small area before dying in the back of the net.
Ten minutes later, Sulaka made a mistake with the ball, was disarmed by Mané and ended up pulling his opponent's shirt. He received a yellow card, but VAR analyzed the move and changed the color of the card, sending off the defender and leaving the defense even more exposed.
Iraq paces the game
With one down and being defeated, Iraq was in no hurry. And this rhythm was also reflected in Senegal's game, which needed to score goals to climb the list of third-placed teams, but ended up slow.
In stoppage time, Mané made a great individual move past three markers and crossed low, but no one arrived to push the ball towards the goal.
Senegal wants the knockout stage
In the second half, after two rare escapes from Iraq, Sarr did what Senegal needed to dream of a place in the knockout stage. After receiving it from Camara inside the area, the number 18 anticipated the marking and increased the score.
The team came back more connected after the break and with new energy. Coach Pape Thiaw made some changes, and one of them yielded immediate results. Pape Gueye, who replaced Diarra, received a beautiful pass on the edge of the area, dominated it and hit it with a left to score the third for the African team.
Senegal went on the attack and Iraq defended itself as best it could. Pape Gueye, the man of the match, scored the fourth goal after receiving it from Sarr. A great goal in Toronto, Canada!
Focus on goal difference
Scoring goals and building a good goal difference has never been more important than in this edition of the World Cup, and Senegal's players kept the objective clear in mind. In the 36th minute of the second half, Ndiaye decided to take a risk from distance and fired a shot, with no chance for Hassan's defense.
What is Senegal's situation
Until the end of the match, Senegal was among the teams that would qualify for the knockout stage, but the situation could change. This is because many of the teams that are below the Teranga Lions can score and/or add more goals by the end of the 3rd round. Check the updated situation:
Standings provided by Sofascore
Source: CNN