Senegal hammer 10-man Iraq 5-0 to keep World Cup knockout hopes alive

Senegal needed a big win to rescue a World Cup campaign that had gone badly wrong, and against Iraq they got it. Two early defeats had left the Lions of Teranga staring at an exit, but a 5-0 thrashing in Toronto kept them alive heading into the knockout phase. Whether it is enough still depends on results elsewhere.

An early red card sets the tone

Senegal were ahead inside four minutes when Habib Diarra got the decisive touch from a goalmouth scramble. Any hope Iraq had of recovering disappeared in the 13th minute. Rebin Sulaka hauled back Sadio Mane as the forward broke clear, and after a VAR check the referee sent the defender off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. A goal down and a man down before a quarter of the match had gone, Iraq were always going to struggle.

Oddly, the extra man did not bring an immediate flood of goals. Senegal led 1-0 at the break and had to wait until the 56th minute to make their dominance count, when Ismaila Sarr swept home a low cut-back after Iraq gifted possession away in their own half.

Gueye turns it into a rout

Pape Gueye changed the complexion of the night within seconds of coming on. The midfielder scored barely two minutes after his introduction in the 57th minute, then added a second on 71 with a fierce strike from the edge of the box. Iliman Ndiaye, another substitute, made it five in the 82nd minute with a long run and a finish to match. The bench did the damage Senegal’s starters had threatened all evening.

The 5-0 scoreline mattered as much as the three points. It swung Senegal’s goal difference from negative to positive in a single afternoon, the kind of swing that can decide who sneaks through in a tournament where margins this fine settle qualification.

Now comes the wait

Senegal finish third in Group I behind France and Norway, who both qualified as the group’s top two. The 48-team format hands eight of the twelve third-placed sides a spot in the round of 32, so a third-place finish is no longer the end of the road it used to be. The catch is that Senegal cannot do anything more to help themselves. Pape Thiaw’s players have to sit and watch the remaining groups play out, hoping their points and goal difference hold up against the other also-rans.

For Iraq, there is no such uncertainty. Three defeats from three, no points and a single goal scored across the group stage send them home bottom of the section. Sulaka’s sending off summed up a tournament that never got going for them, and the gulf to Senegal on the night was plain long before the fifth goal went in.

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