Senegal thrashed Iraq 5-0 to keep knockout hopes alive

Senegal took a big step towards reaching the knockout rounds of the World Cup by achieving a historic 5-0 victory over 10-man Iraq in their final Group I match, 101 GreatGoals reports.

Like their opponents in Toronto, Senegal had suffered defeats to France and Noway in their first two matches, so they needed a multi-goal victory to have a chance of reaching the round of 32 as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

They made an excellent start thanks to Habib Diarra’s early goal, before their cause was helped by a red card for Iraqi defender Rebin Sulaka.

Iraq looked impressively resolute for the remainder of the first half, but Ismaila Sarr’s third goal of the tournament and a long-range goal from Pape Gueye put the game beyond doubt and dramatically improved Senegal’s prospects.

Gueye doubled his tally with a second, before a superb individual effort from Illiman Ndiaye completed the rout in style.

Now with a goal difference of plus two, Senegal can probably look forward to a knockout clash after becoming the first African team to score five goals in a World Cup match.

In the other group match, France defeated Norway 4-1 thanks to Ousmane Dembélé’s hat-trick.

France leads the group with nine points, while Norway came second with six points.