Five Things We Learned from Senegal 5-0 Iraq

Five Things We Learned from Senegal 5-0 Iraq

A brilliant and ruthless second half performance saw Senegal batter Iraq 5-0 to give themselves an excellent chance to progress as one of the best third-place finishers.

Here are five things we learned from this clash in Toronto.

1. Glamorous Gueye

You do not save those 😲

Pape Gueye puts his laces through the ball to emphatically grab his second of the game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OFccExhgjV

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 26, 2026

After starting their opening two fixtures against France and Norway and failing to make an impact, Pape Thiaw opted to start Pape Gueye on the bench today - and the Villarreal man took it personally.

Coming on straight after Senegal had doubled their lead, Gueye made an instant impact just 89 seconds after coming on. He received the ball on the right side of the box, took a touch outwards before finessing the ball beautifully into the far left side of the goal.

He was then at it again within 10 minutes, this time an absolutely thunderous strike which did much more than bulge the back of the net.

That cameo off the bench saw him up his goal tally from six to eight for Senegal, and he will certainly cause Thiaw to have to have tough headache over his team for their last 32 game.

2. No Complaints for Once

RED CARD! 🟥

After VAR rewiew, Anthony Taylor has brandished a Red Card to Iraq’s Sulaka, for deliberately denying Sadio Mané of a clear goal opportunity in the 13th minute.

Senegal 🇸🇳 will now have a numerical advantage for the majority of the game. pic.twitter.com/PDDetDJd2K

— ⭐ Football Experts (@Futball_Experts) June 26, 2026

Unlike many times already this tournament, there was actually nothing bad to say about VAR tonight.

They were called upon quite often too, including for the decision to upgrade a yellow card to red for Iraq's Rebin Sulaka. It was quite a tough choice as to whether it did deny a goalscoring opportunity, but I think it was the correct decision.

Moments later, it was required for a similar situation down the other end, but VAR decided not to get involved - this was another right call considering the situation of the play and whether Abdoulaye Seck had actually held off Ali Al Hamadi enough.

They also later came in to overturn a corner given to Senegal and tonight showed exactly why VAR was introduced in the first place.

3. Second Half Horror Show

This regards both the goalkeeper performances and also the defence as a whole after a complete capitaulation.

Ahmed Fadhil performed brilliantly in the opening period, making some great saves and high claims. Unfortunately, he had to be taken off at 1-0 after overextending his arm and also landing badly later on.

Jalal Hassan went inbetween the sticks for the second half and he had a torrid time of it bless him. The 34-year-old did make six saves, but also got scored on four times.

4. Tough Welcome Back

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Standings in Group I after all games of the Groups Stage!

France and Senegal have all QUALIFIED for the next round of the World Cup! 🇫🇷🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/NFSqu1VqY8

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) June 26, 2026

This was Iraq's first World Cup in 40 years, and this was definitely not as enjoyable as the last.

In 1986, they did lose all three games, but they did score a goal against Belgium while also losing by just one goal each game.

This summer, however, they suffered three awful defeats, conceding 12 times and losing by three or more goals each game.

5. Is it Enough?

Senegal did have a tough time in their first two group games, despite causing Norway and France issues in their own right.

They came into today's clash with a negative three goal difference and needed plenty of goals. Five strikes later and they now finish with three points and a positive goal difference - with just five groups to play Senegal now have a very strong chance.

As things stand on Friday, June 26 at 22:30 BST, Senegal will be playing England in the last 32. However, if DR Congo are to beat Uzbekistan on Saturday evening, they will potentially secure a spot against Switzerland or the winners of Group G - which will likely be either Egypt or Belgium.