Senegal Defeats Iraq 5-0 in FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers

Kathmandu. In its final match of Group 'I' of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, Senegal registered a massive 5-0 victory over Iraq. Winning the one-sided match held on Saturday, Senegal ended the group stage on a high note.

Senegal took the initial lead in the fourth minute with a goal from Habib Diallo. In the 13th minute, Iraq's defender Rebin Sulaka was shown a red card and sent off the field, leaving Iraq with 10 players. Taking advantage of this, Senegal rained goals in the second half. For Senegal, Ismaila Sarr in the 56th minute, Pape Gueye in the 59th and 71st minutes, and Ilman Ndiaye in the 82nd minute scored, giving the team a spectacular 5-0 victory.

With this win, Senegal, with 3 points from 3 matches, is in third place in Group 'I'. The top two teams in the group, France (9 points) and Norway (6 points), have already directly qualified for the knockout stage. For Senegal, it now has to wait for the results of the third-placed teams in other groups. If Senegal manages to be among the 'best third' teams, its chances of advancing to the next round (Round of 32) are still alive. Iraq, on the other hand, has been eliminated from the competition after losing all three matches and remaining pointless.

In another match in the same group, France became the group winner with a 100% win record by defeating Norway 4-1.