Senegal currently hold the fifth-best record of third-place teams based on their plus-2 goal differential.
Published On 26 Jun 2026
Pape Gueye scored two sensational second-half goals from long range, giving Senegal a thumping 5-0 win over Iraq and a much-needed goal difference boost in their bid to qualify for the round of 32 at the World Cup.
Iraq were hapless and down to 10 men in their final Group I match at Toronto Stadium on Friday.
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Ismaila Sarr added his third goal of the tournament, the first of four after half-time for the Lions of Teranga who sealed a third-place group finish with three points and goal difference of plus-two.
They currently hold the fifth-best record of third-place sides, but four of the teams beneath them have yet to play their final group matches.
Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the fourth minute while it was still 11 on 11, and Iliman Ndiaye wrapped it up with his own long-range effort in the 82nd minute.
Iraq, who lost all three group-stage matches, were eliminated from their second World Cup and first since 1986.
The prospect of their first World Cup points grew remote when referee Anthony Taylor dismissed defender Rebin Sulaka for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity in the 13th minute.
Taylor initially brandished only a yellow card after Sadio Mane dribbled past Sulaka, who hauled him back with an outstretched arm. But Taylor was summoned to consult a replay monitor, and after viewing the play again, upgraded the decision.
Senegal couldn’t capitalise during a frustrating remainder of the first half, but that all changed after the interval.
Lamine Camara set up Sarr’s 56th-minute tally to begin the second-half onslaught, forcing an Iraq turnover in their own box, dribbling to the byline, then cutting a low cross back for Sarr to tap into an open goal.
Gueye entered immediately following Sarr’s contribution and soon made his own impact.
In the 59th minute, he took Sarr’s pass near the right corner of the box, dribbled to his left and then unfurled a bending, left-footed strike that curled beyond the diving Ahmed Basil on its way into the top corner.
In the 71st, he ran onto Ndiaye’s bouncing feed and struck a thunderous half-volley that barely gave Basil time to move before it bulged the back of the net.