🙏 ينضم سار إلى رمز وطني في بانثيون كأس العالم السنغالي

Senegal are on the precipice of missing out on the Round of 32 and crashing out of the 2026 World Cup after a narrow loss against dark horse Norway in New York-New Jersey.

Led by the expected goalscoring brilliance of Erling Haaland, the Lions of Teranga fought bravely, but failed to overturn a two-goal deficit before succumbing to a 3-2 loss.

But, there is still hope for the African powerhouse, who need a comprehensive win over Iraq on the final day of group play to qualify as one of the best third-placed nations.

And perhaps it was the individual efforts of Crystal Palace star Ismaïla Sarr that will ultimately prove decisive in the end for Pape Thiaw's outfit.

Bagging a brace of his own, the 28-year-old now sits on three goals this summer, pulling level with the late, great, Senegalese icon Papa Bouba Diop as the nation's all-time leading goalscorer at a men's World Cup.

Diop, a teammate of Thiaw's at France '98 and the lone goalscorer in Senegal's famous group stage win over France, carved out a brilliant campaign at club and international level before his heartbreaking passing in 2020 after retirement.

For a nation who are hardly strangers to doing the unthinkable on the international stage, there is surely a final act to come from to keep their own dark horse dreams alive.