DUBAI: Iraq bowed out of the 2026 World Cup on Friday with a 5-0 loss to Senegal at Toronto Stadium that left them bottom of Group I with no points from their campaign.
The result rounded off three heavy defeats in which Iraq conceded 12 goals and scored only one. Senegal now sit on three points in third place, with a goal difference of plus-2 and must wait to see whether that will be enough to advance. Norway and France had already secured the top two places in the group and booked their places in the Round of 32, with the French topping the group thanks to a 4-1 victory when the two sides met on Friday.
Both Iraq and Senegal entered their match with no points, having each lost to France and Norway. However, the game was not entirely meaningless. While a draw would have eliminated both countries, a win for either, especially a convincing one, offered some slim hope of qualifying for the knockout stages as one the eight best third-placed teams.
For Iraq, however, who already had a goal difference of -6, this looked to be a tall order from the outset. And so it proved to be.
In fact, the match was all but over as a contest inside the first 15 minutes. After just four minutes, Habib Diarra diverted Abdoulaye Seck’s header to give Senegal the lead. Then, barely 10 minutes later, Rebin Sulaka was red-carded for denying a goal-scoring opportunity when he took down Sadio Mane.
