Senegal dismantle Iraq’s 10 men – but how likely are they to make the last 32?
Senegal secured third place in FIFA World Cup Group I with an emphatic 5-0 victory over the 10 men of Iraq — the biggest ever win for an African team at a World Cup.
Two sensational goals from second-half substitute Pape Gueye were the pick of the bunch, but it took the African side almost an hour properly to take control of the game, despite their opponents going down to 10 men after just 13 minutes with Rebin Sulaka dismissed for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
The Athletic’s Amy Lawrence, Lukas Weese and Cerys Jones assess the action…
Will 5-0 be enough for Senegal to make the last 32?
Having entered the tournament tipped as dark horses by some, Senegal’s shortcomings against France and Norway meant that, to stand a strong chance of progressing, they not only needed to beat Iraq but to win emphatically.
Only three points would give Senegal a chance of progressing as one of the best third-placed teams. But even then, with the third-place rankings so tight, goal difference is highly likely to play a part in who progresses.
For almost an hour after Habib Diarra’s opener, Senegal laboured in attack and could not bolster their goal difference past -2. That would have left them vulnerable, with Cape Verde and Belgium only needing to draw their matches to overtake them and push them out of the top eight.
After Ismaila Sarr’s tap-in doubled Senegal’s lead, Pape Thiaw’s substitutions lit a fire under their attack. Gueye’s two thunderbolts and Iliman Ndiaye’s solo effort left them with a goal difference of +2 and sitting fifth in the third-place rankings.
They face a wait to see if that is definitely enough, with Croatia, Algeria, Cape Verde, Belgium, and DR Congo yet to play and still able to leapfrog them — but beefing up that scoreline in the second half may turn out to be crucial.
At full-time, The Athletic’s World Cup predictor gave them a 96 per cent chance of making it through.
Cerys Jones
Should Pape Gueye start?
It is not often a manager watches his team go four goals ahead and looks stern faced.
Thiaw paced, head bowed, arms crossed, as his Senegal players celebrated Gueye’s second rasping shot of the afternoon. Thiaw would have been forgiven for thinking ‘about bloody time’ as his team made strangely hard work of imposing themselves on an Iraq team reduced to 10 men very early in the game, and who only came to life when fresh faces came on to inject some much needed desire to transform their goal difference.
Gueye was part of a triple substitution alongside Nicolas Jackson and Ndiaye. That is some pedigree that Senegal left on the bench, but their impact was inescapable. Gueye’s physical presence in midfield was immediately felt, and he was minded to let fly whenever he had sight of goal.
Both his strikes were ferocious, and they totally changed the temperature of the match — and the likelihood of Senegal progressing into the knock-out phase.
Pape Gueye bends in an incredible goal just 89 seconds after coming on (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
This always looked like a challenging group from which to emerge given the pedigree of France and the intent of a Norway team led by Erling Haaland. Senegal could count themselves fortunate that the conditions could not have been more generous. Iraq were the weakest in this section and, when Rebin Sulaka pulled back Sadio Mane in the 13th minute, he was dismissed for the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Mane was effervescent, but initially the rest of his team looked slack by comparison until Thiaw rang those second half changes. Another substitute, Ndaiye, also helped himself to a peach of a long-range strike.
Amy Lawrence
Were Iraq’s fans disheartened?
Stanley Park is two kilometres from BMO Field in Toronto. But today it was the central gathering spot for Iraq supporters looking to congregate before they marched to the match.
It was a scene that the park hasn’t experienced yet during this tournament; thousands of fans, wearing their Iraq kits, waving flags and banging tambourines and drums. Census data has 11,350 Iraqis living in the city limits of Toronto. Extend that to the Greater Toronto Area and that number increases to 23,000.
📍STANLEY PARK
It is approaching three hours until kick-off of Senegal and Iraq.
Iraq supporters have taken over Stanley Park.
What a raucous, joyful atmosphere. #Iraq pic.twitter.com/WRqSXMxWL1
— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) June 26, 2026
The energy was palpable as supporters sang songs connected to Iraq, lifted creative signs while letting out red and green flares.
Majda, an Iraq supporter who travelled from Detroit, Michigan, told The Athletic that Toronto’s celebration “one of the greatest moments of her life”. Fatima, Mariam and Fadhel, three Iraqi fans, wouldn’t miss the march to the match, despite dealing with jet lag after a 14-hour flight from Dubai to Toronto.
Thousands of Iraq fans make their way to Toronto’s BMO Field (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
The chanting and dancing continued during a boisterous march through downtown Toronto to the stadium. When Iraq fans cheered before kick-off, the decibel level reached 120, the highest at BMO Field during the group stage.
Iraq ultimately didn’t score a goal against Senegal but that did not temper the passion shown by the country’s fans.
Lukas Weese