Iraq\u2019s national team still holds mathematical hopes of qualifying for the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite losing their first two matches in Group I.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s fate now depends on a decisive final match against Senegal, as well as results in other groups, under the tournament\u2019s expanded format that allows qualification for the best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n
Iraq currently sits fourth in Group I with zero points, following defeats against:<\/p>\n
– Norway (1\u20134)<\/p>\n
– France (0\u20133)<\/p>\n
Their goal difference stands at -6, while France and Norway have already secured qualification with six points each.<\/p>\n
The upcoming match against Senegal is crucial for Iraq\u2019s chances:<\/p>\n
– A win would give Iraq three points<\/p>\n
– It would move them into third place<\/p>\n
– It would keep them in contention among the best third-placed teams<\/p>\n
However, Iraq\u2019s qualification also depends on:<\/p>\n
– Results of other groups<\/p>\n
– Comparison with other third-placed teams<\/p>\n
– Goal difference<\/p>\n
With a -6 goal difference, Iraq needs a convincing victory to improve its standing against other teams competing for third-place qualification spots.<\/p>\n
Despite losing both matches against France (1\u20133) and Norway (2\u20133), Senegal has shown strong attacking capabilities, scoring three goals in two games.<\/p>\n
Key players include:<\/p>\n
– Sadio Mane (team captain and primary attacking threat)<\/p>\n
– Nicolas Jackson (physical and fast striker)<\/p>\n
– Ismaila Sarr<\/p>\n
– Iliman Ndiaye<\/p>\n
– Pape Matar Sarr<\/p>\n
Senegal relies on:<\/p>\n
– High pressing<\/p>\n
– Quick transitions from defense to attack<\/p>\n
– Set pieces and crosses<\/p>\n
– Physical and aerial duels<\/p>\n
However, their defense has shown vulnerabilities, conceding five goals across two matches, which could offer Iraq opportunities.<\/p>\n
Senegal will be without their first-choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who is sidelined due to a knee injury sustained in the match against Norway.<\/p>\n
His absence could impact the team\u2019s defensive stability ahead of the crucial clash.<\/p>\n
To keep their qualification hopes alive, Iraq must:<\/p>\n
– Secure a win against Senegal<\/p>\n
– Minimize defensive errors<\/p>\n
– Contain Sadio Mane\u2019s attacking threat<\/p>\n
– Exploit defensive gaps in Senegal\u2019s backline<\/p>\n
– Improve goal difference<\/p>\n
– Iraq still has a mathematical chance to qualify<\/p>\n
– Victory over Senegal is essential<\/p>\n
– Goal difference is a decisive factor<\/p>\n
– Senegal has strong attack but weak defense<\/p>\n
– Mendy\u2019s absence could be significant<\/p>\n
While the task remains difficult, Iraq\u2019s chances of qualification are still alive. A strong performance against Senegal, combined with favorable results elsewhere, could see Iraq secure a historic place in the knockout stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iraq\u2019s national team still holds mathematical hopes of qualifying for the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite losing their first two matches in Group I. The team\u2019s fate now depends on a decisive final match against Senegal, as well as results in other groups, under the tournament\u2019s expanded format that allows […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"7","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"left-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"topbottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35010,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35007\/revisions\/35010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iq\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}