World Cup: Five-star Senegal on brink of qualification after big win over ten-man Iraq

A 5-0 victory over Iraq put Senegal in a favorable position for a place in the Round of 32.

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Senegal produced a stunning second-half performance against ten-man Iraq to boost their hopes of making the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup. Former Bayern attackers Sadio Mané and Nicolas Jackson featured for the Teranga Lions, while Bara Sapoko Ndiaye is once again an unused substitute.

Bayern's 18-year-old defensive midfielder was a surprise inclusion to the squad, and he's still waiting for his tournament debut. However, he'll most likely have another chance for playing time as Senegal projected to finish as one of the best third-placed teams. Former Mainz center-back Moussa Niakhaté played every minute of the group stage.

Despite Iraq going down to ten early in the game, Senegal struggled to create enough chances until Ismaila Sarr's third goal of the tournament doubled their advantage ten minutes after the restart. Pape Gueye, who scored the only goal of the infamous AFCON final, grabbed two more wonder goals as a substitute.

Senegal are currently fifth in the third-placed standings as they're only bettered by teams with four points. South Korea and Scotland are below Pape Thiaw's side as they only need to do better than two more third-placed teams from the remaining five groups. 

Alongside Tunisia, Iraq conceded the most goals in the tournament with 12. Aymen Hussein, who scored Iraq's first World Cup goal in four decades, missed the game due to an injury he suffered in the first-half against France.