Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: Senegal kept their hopes of playing in the knockout stages alive by thrashing Iraq 5-0. With this win, Sadio Mane's country finished third in Group 'I' with 3 points after two consecutive losses. As one of the top eight teams, the African team still has a chance of going to the knockout stages of the North American World Cup. Both teams needed to win to keep their hopes of passing the group stage alive. In the fourth minute of the match, Idrissa Guerra's shot hit someone and went for a corner. In that corner, Habib Diarra's header fell into the net and Senegal took the lead. In the 13th minute, Sadio Mane was pulled up from behind by Rebin Sulaka. Although he was initially given a yellow card, the referee later showed him a red card after looking at the VAR, considering the seriousness of the foul. This reduced Iraq to a team of ten men. In the 19th minute, Ali Al Hammadi tried to control his teammate's long pass through the gap between two defenders. But he was pushed from behind by Abdoulaye Sek. The referee showed the Senegalese defender a yellow card.
However, Iraq did not seem very happy with this decision in the dugout. Senegal stormed Iraq in just three minutes in the second half. Ismaila Sarri scored in the 54th minute. In the 59th minute, Pepe increased the gap further by scoring a spectacular corner shot from outside the box and hitting the far post. In the 71st minute, Pepe's powerful left-footed volley from inside the box, after a teammate's header, hit the net in the blink of an eye. It was only a matter of time before Iraq lost.
Being one of the third best teams, Senegal began to put pressure on Iraq's defense in need of a big win. In the 82nd minute, Liman N'Diye made the scoreline 5-0. As a result, the team's goal difference has gone from -3 to +2. They are currently in fifth place in the list of the top eight third-placed teams in the group. Only after all the group matches are completed will it be known whether Senegal will make it to the top thirty-two or not.
