Pape Thiaw has admitted Senegal’s hopes of reaching the FIFA World Cup knockout stages are now beyond their control despite watching his side produce a ruthless 5-0 victory over Iraq in their final Group I fixture.
The Teranga Lions delivered exactly the kind of performance they needed, scoring five unanswered goals to finish third in the group and significantly improve their goal difference. However, with the competition’s new format requiring the best third-placed teams to qualify, Thiaw acknowledged that Senegal must now rely on results elsewhere.
“The fate is not in our hands,” the Senegal coach said after the match.
“We will wait for the other matches to be calculated.”
Thiaw praised his players for responding under pressure in a game they simply had to win.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate my team for playing the right game,” he said.
“It was important for us to win this match and to be able to hope. To score five goals is a good thing.”
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw says the Teranga Lions can only wait after their emphatic 5-0 win over Iraq left their FIFA World Cup qualification hopes dependent on other results.
Despite the convincing scoreline, Thiaw admitted Iraq posed unexpected problems during the opening period, even after being reduced to 10 men following Rebin Sulaka’s early red card.
“We were up against an Iraqi team who caused us problems in the first half,” he explained.
The Senegal coach revealed that changes made during the interval transformed the contest.
“In the second half, we rectified the situation and made the changes that were necessary.”
Those adjustments proved decisive as Senegal overwhelmed the Iraqis after the break. Ismaila Sarr doubled the advantage before substitute Pape Gueye struck twice, while fellow substitute Iliman Ndiaye completed the scoring to seal the biggest World Cup victory ever recorded by an African nation.
READMORE: Senegal demolish 10-man Iraq to keep World Cup dream alive with record-breaking victory
Although delighted with the result, Thiaw refused to celebrate prematurely, stressing that qualification no longer depends on his team.
“We had to do it, and we did it,” he said.
“We have to congratulate them and wait for the rest to happen.”
The coach acknowledged that the players had fulfilled their side of the bargain, but admitted Senegal’s campaign now rests on outcomes in other groups.
Work remains despite commanding victory
Even after producing one of Senegal’s finest performances of the tournament, Thiaw insisted there are still aspects of his side’s game that require improvement.
“We watched the games, we corrected them, and today I think it paid off,” he said.
“But now, even if we win 5-0, there are still things to correct.”
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He added that any further improvements will depend on whether Senegal are given another opportunity in the tournament.
“If we are still in the competition, we can continue to correct even more.”
For now, however, the Teranga Lions have done everything within their power. Their emphatic victory has kept their World Cup dream alive, but as Thiaw readily admitted, whether that journey continues will be decided elsewhere.
