‎Senegal keep World Cup dreams alive with 5-0 rout of Iraq

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‎Senegal produced a commanding performance to keep their FIFA World Cup knockout hopes alive with a convincing 5-0 victory over 10-man Iraq in their final Group I match on Friday.
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‎The Lions of Teranga finished third in the group and significantly boosted their chances of qualifying as one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed teams thanks to an improved goal difference. At the end of the match, Senegal held the fifth-best record among the third-placed sides, although four teams were still to play their final group fixtures.
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‎Habib Diarra gave Senegal the perfect start, finding the back of the net just four minutes into the contest before Iraq’s hopes suffered a major setback in the 13th minute.
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‎Defender Rebin Sulaka was initially shown a yellow card for pulling back Sadio Mané as the Senegal captain raced through on goal. Following a VAR review, referee Anthony Taylor upgraded the booking to a straight red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, leaving Iraq to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
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‎Despite their numerical advantage, Senegal struggled to extend their lead before halftime, but they returned from the break with renewed purpose.
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‎Lamine Camara sparked the second-half surge by winning possession deep in Iraq’s half before setting up Ismaïla Sarr, who calmly tapped home in the 56th minute for his third goal of the tournament.
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‎Substitute Pape Gueye then stole the spotlight with two spectacular long-range strikes. The midfielder curled a brilliant left-footed effort into the top corner just three minutes after coming on before unleashing a thunderous half-volley in the 71st minute to make it 4-0.
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‎Iliman Ndiaye completed the rout eight minutes from time with another powerful strike from distance to cap an impressive Senegal display.
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‎The defeat brought Iraq’s campaign to an end without a point, marking an early exit in only their second FIFA World Cup appearance and first since 1986.
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‎For Senegal, attention now turns to the remaining group matches, with Aliou Cissé’s side awaiting confirmation on whether their impressive victory will be enough to secure a place in the Round of 32 as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams.
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