Iraq Seeks to Break Negative Record Against Senegal in the World Cup

The Senegal and Iraq teams will face off this Friday evening in the final match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, in a meeting that brings them together for the first time historically. Both parties enter the match with no points after two consecutive losses, and the goal is the same: the first victory to avoid entering the tournament records from a negative door.

The Lions of Mesopotamia suffered two defeats with a three-goal difference in each match: 4-1 against Norway and 3-0 against France. This result puts Iraq on the verge of equaling a rare record that has only happened twice before in World Cup history. The teams of Mexico 1930 and New Zealand 1982 are the only ones that lost all three group stage matches by a margin of 3 goals or more.

Another negative record haunts Iraq in terms of continuity. The team has lost all of its first five matches in the World Cup, from the 1986 edition until now. A loss to Senegal would mean it becomes the second Asian team to fail to taste victory in its first 6 World Cup matches, after South Korea, which waited 14 matches between 1954 and 1998 to achieve its first win.

As for the Lions of Teranga, their entry into the current tournament was also difficult with losses to France 3-1 and Norway 3-2. This number of defeats equals their worst record in a single edition, which happened in the 2022 World Cup.

The third defeat would be historic in another sense, as it would be the first time Senegal loses three consecutive group stage matches. It is worth mentioning that these two losses in this edition equal the total defeats Senegal had in 9 previous group stage matches, where the team achieved 4 wins and 3 draws only.

Despite the historical difficulty of the third round for Senegal, their last appearance in it was positive. In 2022, they won against Ecuador 2-1, which is their only victory in three matches they played in the last round of the groups.

Senegal has a clear advantage against Asian teams in the World Cup. They drew with Japan 2-2 in 2018, then defeated Qatar 3-1 in 2022 without any loss.

For Iraq, this is their first African encounter in World Cup history. Statistics do not favor Asians in their first African encounter. The last three teams from the yellow continent to face Africa for the first time all lost: North Korea, Qatar, and Jordan. Meanwhile, the first five Asian teams that had this experience emerged without a defeat with three wins and two draws.

Despite the tough results, two names stood out. Iraqi defender Akam Hashim set an Iraqi record in the France match by touching the ball 86 times and completing 68 accurate passes out of 71, the highest for any Iraqi player in a single World Cup match.

On the other hand, Senegalese winger Ismaila Sarr has 3 goals in 9 World Cup matches. No Senegalese player has scored more than 3 goals in his first 10 matches, a record he currently shares with Senegalese legend Papa Bouba Diop.