Senegal crushed Iraq 5-0 on Wednesday to claim their opening victory of the 2026 World Cup qualification campaign. The triumph keeps alive their hopes of advancing as one of eight best third-placed teams.
Coach Pape Thiaw's squad had suffered defeats in their first two matches. They desperately needed a convincing result against the Iraqis.
Habib Diarra broke the deadlock in the fourth minute with a corner conversion. Iraq's task became nearly impossible when Rebn Sulaka received a red card in the 13th minute for blocking Sadio Mane's clear scoring chance.
Playing with a numerical advantage, Senegal dominated after the interval. Ismaila Sarr doubled their lead at the 56-minute mark.
Pape Gueye then scored twice to extend the lead further. Iliman Ndiaye capped off the performance with a spectacular fifth goal late on.
It marks Senegal's biggest World Cup victory ever recorded. They finished Group I with three points and a plus-two goal difference.
The AFCON 2025 champions must now wait for other group results. They could still secure knockout stage qualification or face elimination depending on how matches play out.
In the evening's other fixture, France demolished Norway 5-1 to secure first place in the group. Ousmane Dembele netted a first-half hat-trick to lead the demolition.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken fielded 10 changes to his starting lineup. The heavy defeat confirmed a second-place finish for the Scandinavians in Group I.
France topped the group with nine points from three matches. They advance directly to the knockout round.
