Graham Arnold insists Iraq should look again at their World Cup marketing campaign with delight, regardless of dropping all of their matches.
Iraq exited the match with out a level to their title as they slumped to a thumping 5-0 defeat to Senegal at Toronto Stadium.
Senegal grew to become the primary African crew to web 5 objectives in a World Cup match as they capitalised on Rebin Sulaka’s early purple card.
Habib Diarra had already put Senegal forward by the point Sulaka noticed purple within the thirteenth minute.Â
Senegal didn’t make their numerical benefit depend for the remainder of the primary half, however Ismaila Sarr’s 56th-minute objective opened the floodgates, with Pape Gueye scoring two stunners earlier than fellow substitute Iliman Ndiaye rounded off the rout with a sensational end.
Iraq grew to become solely the second crew to obtain a purple card and concede a objective within the opening quarter-hour of a World Cup sport and have now misplaced all six of their matches on the finals, the joint-most video games performed of any nation with a 100% loss charge within the competitors.
Arnold, although, stated:Â “Everybody in Iraq must be happy with the truth that we made it right here and we carried out very effectively in two out of the three video games.
“The fact is, your nationwide crew is as sturdy as your native league. In case your native league will not be that sturdy, once you play towards these sort of opponents, you get punished.
Senegal 5-0 Iraq
Senegal knew a giant win was wanted, and so they delivered with a 5-0 rout of Iraq to edge nearer to the final 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/ntLxQmIBRC
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 26, 2026
“These boys, they’ve solely ever seen these sorts of gamers play on TV. They’ve by no means performed towards this calibre of gamers earlier than. All the pieces about it, it was a shock to them.
“My job once I first got here in was to qualify them for the World Cup. The miracle occurred.
“It has been an pleasant journey, an pleasant World Cup, even when the outcomes have not been that nice. However hopefully, the gamers will go away from this, having fun with the expertise of being at a World Cup for the primary time in 40 years, but additionally studying from errors.”
Senegal recorded the most important ever victory on the World Cup by an African nation and their largest win in a significant match.
Coach Pape Thiaw, nonetheless, sees scope for enchancment.
“Though we scored 5 objectives, there ​are nonetheless enhancements to be made,” he informed reporters.
Senegal might face England within the subsequent spherical, however they must wait till Saturday’s fixtures are completed and dusted to make sure of their opponents.
