Senegal Vs Iraq: Do-or-Die World Cup Clash in Toronto
The FIFA World Cup will witness a high stakes encounter as Senegal and Iraq meet for the first time in the men’s tournament.
Their clash at Toronto Stadium has become a last-chance showdown, with both sides staring elimination in the face and desperate to salvage their campaigns in Group I.
Senegal, coached by Pape Thiaw, opened their tournament with a 3-1 defeat to France before falling 3-2 to Norway in a thriller that saw Erling Haaland and Ismaïla Sarr both score twice.
Despite Sarr’s brace, Senegal now face the prospect of losing three successive group-stage matches for the first time in their history. Their record in Matchday 3 fixtures is mixed, with just one win in three attempts, though that victory came in their last World Cup appearance, a 2-1 triumph over Ecuador in 2022.
For Iraq, the situation is even more precarious. Under coach Graham Arnold, they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Norway and a 3-0 loss to France, leaving them bottom of the group with a goal difference of minus six.
With Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé among the scorers in their most recent setback, Iraq now risk joining Mexico (1930) and New Zealand (1982) as the only nations to lose three group-stage games by three or more goals in a single edition.
Iraq have already lost their first five World Cup matches and could become just the second AFC nation to fail to win any of their opening six, following South Korea’s run of 14 straight defeats between 1954 and 1998.
Yet there were glimmers of hope in their performance against France, with midfielder Akam Hashim registering 86 touches and completing 68 of his 71 passes, both records for an Iraq player in a World Cup match.
Historically, Senegal have fared well against AFC opposition, drawing 2-2 with Japan in 2018 and beating hosts Qatar 3-1 in 2022.
Iraq, meanwhile, will be facing a CAF nation for the first time at the World Cup. Previous encounters between Asian and African teams have tilted in Africa’s favour, with the last three AFC sides, North Korea, Qatar, and Jordan, all losing their first meetings against African opponents.
