TORONTO – Heading into their final Group I World Cup group stage match on Friday, Senegal faced a clear and unforgiving mandate: they not only needed a win, but a lopsided, goal-heavy victory to keep their knockout stage hopes alive. By the final whistle, the African side delivered exactly that, tearing through a shorthanded Iraq squad to claim a resounding 5-0 triumph that leaves them on the cusp of advancing to the Round of 32.
From the opening minutes, Senegal came out pressing aggressively, and they earned their first reward just four minutes into the contest when Habib Diarra found the back of the net to put his side up early. The game’s turning point arrived just nine minutes later, when Iraq defender Rebin Sulaka was shown a straight red card for pulling Sadio Mane’s jersey to stop the winger from breaking away on a one-on-one scoring chance. Left down to 10 men for virtually the entire remainder of the match, Iraq was forced into a defensive rearguard that held firm for nearly 40 minutes after the red card, with Senegal unable to extend their lead until the 56th minute, when Ismaila Sarr slotted home the side’s second goal.
What followed was a devastating second-half scoring flurry from Senegal. Midfielder Pape Gueye bagged a brace, both goals powerful strikes from just outside the 18-yard box, before substitute Iliman Ndiaye capped off the rout with Senegal’s fifth goal of the night.
The dominant result leaves Senegal sitting at three points in Group I with a +2 goal differential, currently in third place in the group. With only the eight best third-place teams across all groups earning a spot in the knockout round, Senegal has done everything it can to advance – but now must wait for the remaining six group stage matches across the tournament to conclude to learn their fate. “The job is done, but fate is no longer in our hands,” Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw said in post-match comments. “We have to wait until the other matches are over.”
Gueye echoed his coach’s sentiment, noting that the team executed the game plan they came into the match with. “We had to score as many goals as possible,” Gueye said. “So there you go.” Diarra, who opened the scoring for Senegal, expressed confidence that the side’s strong result would be enough to see them through to the next round. “They gave us problems, but we solved them,” he said. “We played a great match, both collectively and individually. Now, here we are. I can say we are focused on our next match.”
For Iraq, the loss brings an early end to their historic World Cup run, marking their first appearance at the tournament since 1986. They exit the competition winless, having failed to pick up a single point across three group stage matches. “I want to apologize for our fans, for our country, these three games,” Iraqi defender Merchas Doski said after the match.
Even so, Iraq head coach Graham Arnold framed the team’s qualification for the tournament itself as a remarkable achievement. “Hopefully the players will go away from this enjoying the experience of being in the World Cup for the first time in 40 years,” he said, “but also learning from mistakes.”