France finished top of Group I after brushing aside Norway 4-1 on Friday, while Senegal kept their World Cup hopes alive with a thumping 5-0 victory over Iraq.
The French had already secured a place in the Round of 32 before their final group game, but they made another statement with a dominant display inspired by Ousmane Dembele.
The winger was simply too hot for Norway to handle, scoring three times inside the opening 32 minutes to put the game beyond reach. Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back before halftime to give Norway a glimmer of hope, but the comeback never came. Norway even missed a penalty in the second half before Désiré Doué wrapped things up with France’s fourth late in the game.
The win ensured France finished the group with a perfect nine points, while Norway’s earlier results were enough to see them qualify as runners-up despite the defeat.
In the other Group I fixture, Senegal produced exactly the kind of result they needed, sweeping Iraq aside 5-0 to stay in the race for a place in the knockout stage.
Habib Diarra got the Lions of Teranga off to a dream start after just four minutes, and Iraq’s task became even tougher when defender Rebin Sulaka was sent off nine minutes later. From there, Senegal never looked back.
Ismaïla Sarr added the second before Pape Gueye grabbed a brace after the break. Iliman Ndiaye completed the rout with the fifth goal as Senegal recorded one of the biggest wins of this year’s tournament.
The convincing scoreline could prove crucial, with Senegal now relying on results elsewhere to determine whether they finish among the tournament’s best third-placed teams and sneak into the Round of 32.
For Iraq, however, the campaign ended on a disappointing note. They lost all three group matches, finished bottom of Group I without a point and became one of the latest teams to bow out of the competition.
Friday’s matches also produced one of the standout individual displays of the tournament so far, with Dembele becoming the latest player to register a World Cup hat-trick.
By the end of the day, France and Norway had booked their places in the knockout rounds, Senegal remained in the waiting game with genuine hope, while Iraq’s World Cup journey came to an end.