— as France, Spain and Belgium surpass opponents
By Emmanuel Olagunju
Senegal produced a dominant display to defeat Iraq 5-0 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup fixture on Friday, with Pape Alassane Gueye emerging as the star performer after scoring a sensational second-half hat-trick.
The Teranga Lions took an early lead through Habib Diarra in the fourth minute after being set up by Abdoulaye Seck and maintained control of the encounter throughout the first half. Senegal doubled their advantage in the 56th minute through Ismaïla Sarr before Pape Alassane Gueye took center stage, finding the net in the 59th, 71st and 81st minutes to complete his hat-trick and seal an emphatic victory.
The comprehensive win underlined Senegal’s attacking strength and defensive solidity as Iraq struggled to cope with the African side’s intensity and quality.
In another fixture, France secured a convincing 4-1 victory over Norway, inspired by a brilliant hat-trick performance from Masour Ousmane Dembélé.
Dembélé opened the scoring in the seventh minute after an assist from captain Kylian Mbappé Lottin and doubled France’s advantage in the 20th minute, again benefiting from Mbappé’s creativity. The French forward completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute following a pass from Aurélien Djani Tchouaméni, giving France a commanding lead despite Norway pulling one back through Thelo Aasgaard before halftime.
Norway were handed a lifeline early in the second half but failed to capitalize after Jørgen Strand Larsen missed a penalty in the 50th minute. France eventually added a fourth goal in stoppage time through Désiré Doué, assisted by Bradley Laurent Barcola, to complete a comfortable victory.
Elsewhere, Spain edged Uruguay 1-0 in a tightly contested encounter, while Egypt and Iran played out a 1-1 draw. Belgium also produced one of the most emphatic performances of the round, thrashing New Zealand 5-1 to strengthen their position in the standings.
Meanwhile, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia battled to a goalless draw.
The latest round of 2026 FIFA World Cup fixtures highlighted the attacking prowess of several nations, with Pape Alassane Gueye and Masour Ousmane Dembélé delivering standout hat-trick performances to lead Senegal and France to impressive victories.
