By Eniola Olatunji reporting for Patmos Media Line
…Turkey Beat Yankees of USA 3-2 . . .
THE TERANGA Lions of Senegal on Friday at the Toronto Stadium took advantage of the straight red card to beat the Iraqi Lions of Mesopotamia silly by 5-0 in a final Group I game.
Defender Rabin Sulaka had in the 13th minute fouled on goal bound captain Sadio Mane in the box and British Super Ref Anthony Tailor flashed him a straight red verified by VAR. See cover photo of Tailor and the red card.
Fans were still finding their ways to the stands when a corner kick taken by Abdoulaye Seck was headed in by Habib Diarra in the 4th minute for Senegal.
Lamine Camara set up Ismaila Sarr to score the 2nd goal in the 56th minute; Pape Gueye scored a brace getting the 3rd goal in the 59th minute through Ibrahim Sarr connect and the 4th goal in the 71st minute from Lliman Ndiaye pass while Lliman himself put the icing on the cake in the 82nd minute from Gueye assist.
Teranga Lions of Senegal ranked 15 was not kind to the 57th ranked Mesopotamia Lions appearing for the 2nd time at the mundial, eliminated at the group stages in 1986 unlike Senegal that made the quarterfinals in 2002. Teranga is a Wolof language meaning hospitable or showing kindness but was not showing that drilling the Iraqians who are lords of the Mesopotamia ocean in football tactics.
In the other Group match, Ousmane Dembele scored his first hattrick as France beat less Manchester City Man Mountain striker Erling Haaland who was not fielded 4-1. Dembele scored 7th, 20th and 22nd minutes.
In the first group matches, France caged Senegal 3-1 and Norway blocked Iraq 4-2 while in the 2nd group matches Norway beat Senegal 3-2 and France fenced Iraq 3-0.
France topped the group with 9 points scoring 10 goals and conceding 2; Norway was 2nd with 6 points scoring 8 goals and conceding 7; Senegal placed 3rd with 3 points scoring 8 goals and conceding 6 while Iraq goes home without even a draw scoring only one goal and conceding whopping 12 goals.
Earlier in the day, Turkiye or Turkey hushed the Yankees of USA 3-2 today in group D while Paraguay played a goalless draw with Australia.
Co-hosts USA win that group with 6 points scoring 8 goals and conceding 4; Australia came 2nd with 4 points scoring 2 goals and conceding 2; Paraguay dropped to the 3rd position by goals difference chalking 4 points too but scored 2 goals and conceded 4 while Turkey is out with 3 points (terrible losers when others will be praying for a passage to knockout stages with 3 points).
#2026WorldCup #CAF #AFC
#FSF #IFA #NFF.
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