Senegal turned a 5-0 win over Iraq in Toronto into a place in the World Cup knockout stages, with Pape Gueye striking twice after coming off the bench. The result also puts England vs Senegal on the immediate path ahead, with Senegal moving on after a group phase that had already narrowed the margin for error.
Pape Gueye changes the match
Habib Diarra put Senegal in front inside four minutes, and that early goal was followed by a red card for Rebin Sulaka after he pulled Sadio Mane to the ground 20 yards out. Inside the opening 15 minutes, Iraq were down to 10 men and already chasing the match.
Pape Gueye then took over after halftime. He scored twice after coming on as a substitute, including a goal 89 seconds after his introduction, before Iliman Ndiaye added Senegal's fifth.
Rebin Sulaka and the 15-minute edge
The early dismissal left Iraq in a rare position. They became 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, and Senegal did not let the advantage slip once the game opened up after the break.
Before that, Senegal had still had to work through a flat first half. They led 1-0 and had the extra man for most of the match, but they still struggled to test Iraq before the break, which made the second-half burst decisive rather than routine.
Senegal after France and Norway
The scale of the result matters because Senegal had lost to France and Norway in their first two Group I matches. They needed a large win in Toronto to move on, and they got one in a way that also carried a place in World Cup history: the biggest win by an African nation at a World Cup.
That leaves Senegal in the knockout stages and set to meet England in the round of 32. Pape Thiaw now has a team that survived the group phase on goal difference pressure and turned it into a 5-0 finish, while Iraq leave Toronto after a match that changed early and never recovered.
