Five-star Senegal keep World Cup hopes alive and send Iraq home
Iraq played with 10 men after defender Rebin Sulaka was sent off in the first half.
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TORONTO: Senegal kept their World Cup knockout hopes alive in dominant fashion on Friday (Jun 26) with a 5-0 victory over 10-man Iraq, who were eliminated from the tournament.
Survival was on the line as both sides entered the match needing to win, preferably by a large margin, to stay in the hunt for one of the last eight spots in the round of 32.
Senegal struck in the fourth minute after Lamine Camara hooked a corner into the box and Abdoulaye Seck’s downward header grazed off the boot of teammate Habib Diarra to send the ball up and over Iraq keeper Ahmed Basil.
More trouble followed for Iraq when defender Rebin Sulaka pulled a goalward-bound Sadio Mane down on the edge of the box. After a VAR check for a possible red card, Sulaka was given his marching orders by English referee Anthony Taylor.
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Despite being down a man, Iraq were brave in attack in the first half and Senegal failed to capitalise on the advantage, with long-range efforts from Ismail Jakobs and Mane sailing wide.
It rained goals in the second half, however, as Senegal came out with more urgency and conviction.
Ismaila Sarr bagged his fourth career World Cup goal from close range to become his country's all-time leading scorer in the tournament and substitute Pape Gueye unleashed two rockets from distance to send Senegal’s army of fans into raptures.
Iliman Ndiaye added another long-range strike to cap off Senegal’s five-star performance, and their green-clad supporters began to chant “Senegal! Senegal!” as the clock wound down.
"I think he was very motivated," Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said of Gueye. "He wanted to serve his country and he scored two goals so we must congratulate him."
Despite bouncing back from back-to-back defeats by France and Norway with a strong display, Thiaw said his team could be better after a "difficult" first half.
“Even though we scored five goals, there are still improvements to be made,” Thiaw told reporters.
Senegal finished third in Group I with three points, behind France and Norway while Iraq finished fourth.
The African side must wait until the group stage ends on Saturday to see if they are one of the eight best third-placed teams who will advance to the round of 32.
Iraq, making their second World Cup appearance and first in 40 years, will go home without a point.
“It was an amazing experience, but I want to apologise (to) our fans, (to) our nations,” defender Merchas Doski said. “These three games, we didn't learn from our mistakes."
Iraq coach Graham Arnold said Sulaka’s "stupid" early red card made it even tougher for the team to perform against a top side like Senegal.
“With 11 men, it would have been hard enough as it was, let alone having 10 men for that long,” Arnold said.
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