Iraq didn't stand a chance

LIVE: Senegal is now making Austria nervous, too!

Nachrichten
26.06.2026 05:11
Porträt von krone Sport
Von krone Sport

On Friday in Toronto, Canada, Senegal routed Iraq 5-0 in their final Group I preliminary round match. The West Africans have thus made a huge leap in the standings for third-place teams. This could also prove important for Austria...

Following the rout, the West Africans have three points and a goal difference of 8–6 (+2). In the standings for third-place teams, they have thus overtaken South Korea and Scotland.

Senegal currently has a better goal difference than Austria
By comparison: After two games, Austria also has three points and a goal difference of 3–3 (+/- 0). In plain language: If Austria loses its final group match against Algeria, the ÖFB team would fall behind Senegal in the table of third-place teams. As a reminder: Of the 12 third-place teams, only the top 8 qualify for the knockout stage (see chart below).

The current standings for the third-place teams:

Ideal Start for Senegal
The match against Iraq got off to an ideal start for Senegal with an early goal and a red card for the opposition. Habib Diarra deflected the ball into the net off a corner kick just four minutes into the game. Shortly afterward, Rebin Sulaka was shown a red card following a VAR review for a professional foul on Sadio Mané.

Post-match handshake: Iraq’s Ibrahim Bayesh (left) and Senegal’s Pape Gueye.
Post-match handshake: Iraq’s Ibrahim Bayesh (left) and Senegal’s Pape Gueye.(Bild: AFP/COLE BURSTON)

Despite having a man advantage, things continued to be rather rocky for the 2002 quarterfinalists until halftime, with few scoring chances against the valiantly defending Iraqis.

Shortly after the restart, however, the goals came in quick succession. Ismailia Sarr (56') and substitute Pape Gueye (59', 71')—with a spectacular brace—extended the lead to 4–0. Iliman Ndiaye (82') scored the fifth goal against the now helpless Iraqis.

Senegal Can Dream of the Knockout Stage; Iraq Is Eliminated
Thanks to this decisive victory following losses to France and Norway, Senegal can reach the knockout stage for the third time in its fourth World Cup appearance. “We won 5–0, and I think that was absolutely deserved,” said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, adding: “Our fate is no longer in our own hands. We’ll have to wait and see, but we’ve done our job.” Iraq, on the other hand, must head home without any points as the group’s last-place team, just as they did during their World Cup debut in 1986.

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

Loading...
00:00 / 00:00
Abspielen
Schließen
Aufklappen
kein Artikelbild
Loading...
Vorige 10 Sekunden
Zum Vorigen Wechseln
Abspielen
Zum Nächsten Wechseln
Nächste 10 Sekunden
00:00
00:00
1.0x Geschwindigkeit
Loading
Kommentare Banner - Die Stimme Österreichs
Eingeloggt als 
Nicht der richtige User? Logout

Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.

User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.

Kostenlose Spiele
Vorteilswelt

Magazine der Kronen Zeitung