FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group I, Match 62 | Friday, 26 June 2026 Toronto Stadium, Toronto, Canada | Referee: Anthony Taylor
Pape Gueye’s second goal travelled at 132 kilometres per hour. The ball hit the back of the net so hard that when it left his boot, it was already in the goal before most people could follow it.
That was the 71st minute. By that point Senegal were already 3-0 up and tearing a ten-man Iraq apart. But Gueye hit it anyway, because moments like that one do not need context or scoreline justification — they just need to be witnessed.
Senegal 5-0 Iraq. The biggest victory by an African nation in the history of the FIFA World Cup. An extraordinary collective performance. A result that, at the time of writing, puts Pape Thiaw’s side into the last 32 and on course for a Round of 32 match against England in Atlanta on July 1.
Not bad for a team that had lost both its previous group games.
The opening four minutes set the tone completely. Idrissa Gueye’s shot deflected out for a corner. Abdoulaye Seck rose highest from the resulting delivery and his header was heading in — Habib Diarra, the Sunderland midfielder, got the final touch from close range. One-nil. Senegal in front before Iraq had drawn breath.
Then the red card. Sulaka brought Mané down 20 yards from goal in the 13th minute. Referee Anthony Taylor initially showed yellow. The VAR monitor call came. Taylor went to look at the screen. The decision was clear — Sulaka had denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Yellow became red. Iraq down to ten men after just thirteen minutes.
Iraq made them only the second team in World Cup history to concede a goal and receive a red card inside the opening 15 minutes of a match. The previous instance was Colombia against Japan in 2018. This was worse — Japan at least went on to draw that game. Iraq had nothing left to offer once the red came.
Ahmed Basil — the Iraq goalkeeper — was exceptional in keeping the first-half damage to one goal. Mané had a free kick pushed brilliantly to safety. Others were blocked and deflected. But Basil could not hold everything back in the second half. When Zidane Iqbal made a mistake in his own area in the 56th minute, Lamine Camara cut the ball back and Ismaila Sarr fired in. 2-0.
Then Pape Gueye came on as a substitute. Within 89 seconds he had curled a beauty into the corner. 3-0. A goal created from nothing, from the pure technical quality of a man who had just come off the bench and had not broken a sweat yet.
His second arrived fifteen minutes later. That 132km/h screamer. Iraq’s goalkeeper Hassan — who had replaced Basil — had no chance. Nobody would have had any chance. Gueye ran away pumping his fists. The Toronto crowd, heavily Senegalese, made the kind of noise you expect when a team you have been willing into the tournament finally produces something extraordinary.
Sadio Mané hit the upright in the 75th minute with a looping effort that deserved to go in. It hit the right-hand post and stayed out. Five would have been unthinkable for a team that had lost to both France and Norway in their first two group games.
Iliman Ndiaye made it five anyway. Eighty-second minute. A cracker that left the goalkeeper with no answer. Ndiaye — the Everton midfielder — scored and set up goals throughout this match, part of an extraordinary Senegalese trio that included Sarr and Pape Gueye. Each of the three scored and provided an assist. The last time that happened in a World Cup match was Germany’s 7-1 destruction of Brazil in 2014 — when Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira and Thomas Müller all scored and assisted on the same night.
The statistical records kept coming. Ismaila Sarr is now the outright top scorer and top contributor for Senegal in World Cup history with five goal involvements — four goals and an assist. Pape Gueye became only the second African player to score twice in a World Cup match as a substitute, after Roger Milla did it twice for Cameroon in 1990. Ndiaye’s three assists as a substitute are the joint-most of any player in the tournament’s history, alongside Cesc Fàbregas. And the result itself — 5-0 — is the biggest margin of victory by an African nation at a World Cup.
All of that. From a team that was losing to Norway three days ago.
Senegal finished the group stage with xG of 3.03 from 28 shots against Iraq’s 0.18 from six. The numbers do not need interpretation. They were magnificent. Iraq, reduced to ten men so early, given so little opportunity to compete, leave Toronto eliminated — but with Aymen Hussein’s pre-tournament quote still resonating: “Football has brought our country together.” That is not nothing. Even a 5-0 defeat cannot take that away.
For live World Cup scores and knockout stage coverage, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results, standings and Round of 32 fixtures at the official FIFA World Cup website.
Senegal 5-0 Iraq FIFA World Cup 2026, Group I, Match 62 | Friday, 26 June 2026 Toronto Stadium, Toronto, Canada | Referee: Anthony Taylor
Goals: Habib Diarra 4′ (assist: Abdoulaye Seck header), Ismaila Sarr 56′ (assist: Lamine Camara, after Zidane Iqbal mistake), Pape Gueye 59′ (sub, 89 seconds after coming on), Pape Gueye 71′ (132km/h thunderbolt), Iliman Ndiaye 82′
Red Card: Rebin Sulaka 13′ (Iraq — denied obvious goalscoring opportunity on Mané, VAR upgrade from yellow)
Stats: Possession SEN 57.1% — IRQ 34.3% (8.6% contested) | Attempts 28-6 | xG SEN 3.03 — IRQ 0.18 | Half-time: 1-0
Records: Biggest World Cup win by an African nation (5-0). Sarr/Gueye/Ndiaye all scored and assisted — first time any team had three players do so since Germany 7-1 Brazil 2014. Pape Gueye — second African to score twice as a substitute in a World Cup (after Roger Milla, 1990).
Group I final standings: France 9 pts | Norway 6 pts | Senegal 3 pts (advanced as best third-placed team) | Iraq 0 pts (eliminated)
Round of 32 (as things stand): Senegal vs England (Atlanta, July 1)
