Toronto- Senegal needed to win and it needed to win big. Done and done.
Senegal racked up the goals on 10-man Iraq in a 5-0 victory Friday that boosted its chances of reaching the World Cup knockout stages.
“The job is done, but fate is no longer in our hands,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said. “We have to wait until the other matches are over.”
Pape Gueye scored twice in a second-half flurry as the Senegalese — vying to advance from third place in Group I — took advantage of a first-half red card on Iraq defender Rebin Sulaka, who prevented Sadio Mane from going in on goal alone by yanking his shirt.
Habib Diarra scored in the fourth minute and even though Sulaka was sent off in the 13th, Senegal didn’t find the net again until Ismaila Sarr’s goal in the 56th minute.
Gueye then added his two goals, both hard blasts from around the edge of the penalty area, and Iliman Ndiaye netted Senegal’s fifth.
Senegal now has three points and a plus-two goal differential. The eight best third-place teams advance to the Round of 32.
“We had to score as many goals as possible,” Gueye said. “So there you go.”
Diarra also seemed confident Senegal will be among the teams that move on.
“They gave us problems, but we solved them,” he said. “We played a great match, both collectively and individually. Now, here we are. I can say we’re focused on our next match.”
Iraq was eliminated without a point in its first World Cup appearance since 1986.
“I want to apologize for our fans, for our (country), these three games,” Iraq defender Merchas Doski said.
Iraq coach Graham Arnold said just qualifying for the tournament was a miracle.
“Hopefully the players will go away from this enjoying the experience of being in the World Cup for the first time in 40 years,” he said, “but also learning from mistakes.”
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