38 min: Basil makes another smart claim as he comes off his line to claim a long throw from Jakobs. He’s had a good game, the Iraq keeper.

37 min: Sarr goes down just outside the box. He has a case as he appeals for a free kick, but nothing doing.

35 min: Diarra can’t quite get his feet in order but he wins a corner after the covering tackle takes the ball away from him inside the box. Corner from Camara is well placed but Basil comes out and gets a stiff punch on it.

34 min: That was better from Senegal. They’re starting to find some joy down the left with Jakobs showing some sparkle.

33 min: Jakobs fires from just inside the box and snatches at it with his left foot from the left corner of the area. He drags it just wide of the far post. But that wasn’t far off.

Apparently we’re big in Norway!

“I’m streaming this match from NRK in Norway, and the stream just went down. I’m a bit surprised so many Norwegians are watching this match on a Friday night,” says Bob O’Hara.

Unless he’s messaged the wrong blog, that is remarkable. Or perhaps it’s because France are now 3-1 up.

30 min: Despite the score, Iraq have settled in a low block. I guess that makes sense given they’re a man down. Senegal not able to crack the wall just yet. But they’re very passive.

29 min: Mane can’t link up with Jakobs down the left. I’d like to see a bit more continuity from Senegal.

27 min: They’re back. Senegal need one more goal to all but secure their place as one of the best third-placed teams. They’re on the ball again with Mbaye down the right but Iraq swarm and win it back before clearing.

Stefan Martens thinks he knows the source of those boos earlier:

“So, was some of the booing for Rebin’s red card from secret members of the Tartan Army in Toronto? Senegal against 10 men for 80+ minutes is likely to put another sizable nail in Scotland’s coffin...”

23 min: Iraq have settled a bit since the red card. They’re knocking the ball about. Though as I type that a wild pass from centre back Hashim under pressure finds nothing but space down the right flank.

Hydration break time.

20 min: Jasim can’t beat the wall but he gets a second bite at it. His hacked shot takes a deflection and spins out for a corner that is easily headed away.

18 min: A yellow card for Seck as he bundles down Al Hamadi who was running through on goal after a long ball forward. The Iraqi players surround the referee calling for a red card, but on this occasion it was further back, a little off to the side and there were plenty of defenders around. It was clumsy by Seck, but yellow is the right call. Still, a handy spot for a free kick just to the left of the goal as Iraq are looking at it, just beyond the box.

17 min: Basil is back in action as he has to speed off his line to beat a Sarr to a loose ball outside his area. He gets there just in time to hack it away. Sarr has a shot at goal from the subsequent long throw, but that was a tough ball to catch in the box on the right. All he could do was slice it wide.

My colleague from across the pond, Beau Dure, says that Iraq, “now need a mere five goals to squeeze ahead of Scotland in the third-place table.”

Hey, it could happen. It won’t. But it could.

14 min: The free-kick from Mane from just outside the box is on target and forces an excellent diving save by Basil who was full stretch to his right. He got a stiff hand to it and tipped it away. He landed awkwardly and needs some attention. He might not be able to continue

But what an opportunity for Senegal now to dramatically improve their goal difference and secure their place in the last 32.

He clearly tugged Mane’s shorts. I say clearly like there’s any ambiguity. He pretty much yanked him back! This HAS to be a red.

9 min: Oooh! A lucky bounce combined with a poor touch from an Iraqi defender has Mane running clear on goal. Sulaka pulls him down and is so so so lucky to get away with just a yellow card. VAR will look again. I think this is a clear red.

8 min: Diarra has been credited with the goal. At least according to the sources I’m seeing. It was Seck’s header, but it took a touch on the way.

6 min: Doski wriggles from his own half and sparks a move foward for Iraq. He gets the ball wide right but the attack fizzles out.

4 min: Corner for Senegal on their right. Will be Camara’s right boot to deliver the away swinger. It’s headed away but falls kindly for Gueye who thwacks it first time. it takes a wicked deflection that could have gone anywhere but bounces just wide of the post. Another corner.

2 min: Iraq have had all the ball so far. A long pass from the keeper almost breaks upfield, but it comes to nothing. Senegal win the ball back and now have a chance to build something.

Kick-off imminent.

But before I forget, mazel-tov and all the best to my mate Jim Robertson who got married today!

Anthems are done. The Senegalese players looked locked in. The Iraqis seemed to be more emotional.

Does that mean anything? We’ll find out shortly.

Senegal were so good in the first half against France.

And they played well in patches against Norway.

So why have they got nothing to show for it?

Well, as Osasu Obayiuwana explains, they’ve been pretty shambolic at the back.

The players are exiting the tunnel now. Can they sort themselves out and show what they’re about?

I really enjoyed this piece from Yara El-Shaboury.

It’s all about content creators. Yes, content creators. You might not like them, you might not even understand them, but they’re here and they’re not going away.

Norway have rested Haaland and have made 10 changes for the France game!

Clearly this match here is the one to watch tonight.

Justin Kavanagh – one of our regulars (hiya Justin!) has written in:

“I’ve been lucky to visit Toronto several times, but never for a football match. Which is a shame, as it strikes me as a perfect World Cup city, in a way that New York can never really could be, with the stadium out in the Jersey swamplands. Why FIFA chose that place for the final is, like their ticket prices, beyond me.”

I’m hearing this a lot. My vote would have been Mexico City for the final. But to be fair, all the stadiums in this World Cup have been quite something. Say what you want about the North Americans, but they know what they’re doing when it comes to arenas.

This is the first time these two teams have played each other.

In an increasingly homogenised world, where everything flattens and turns to beige, that’s pretty neat if you ask me.

Iraq are chasing their first ever point in the World Cup.

Their one and only involvement came in 1986 where they lost 1-0 to Paraguay, 21- to Belgium and 1-0 to Mexico.

OH!

Senegal will also be without first-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, who was injured against Norway.

Interesting to note that Kalidou Koulibaly starts on the bench for Senegal.

The former Napoli and Chelsea defender – now in Saudi with Al-Hilal – had a howler against Norway.

“Every ball I touched went wrong,” he said.

He’s got the hook for this one.

We’ve got our first email:

It’s from John Brennan and it’s titled ‘Pedant corner’. Uh, oh…

“Hi Daniel, Not to be too pedantic, and maybe this belong to a rival podcast of Football Weekly, but can we describe Senegal as being neighbors of either Morocco, Cote D’Ivoire or South Africa when they don’t share a border with any of them?

“I attended the Iraq v France game and despite the rain, it was a beautiful occasion. The Iraq fans provided plenty of noise and color despite clearly being outclassed (I missed the 2^nd goal as I had turned to the Iraqi sitting beside me to say there was a mistake in there keeper. We agreed the goal wasn’t entirely his fault as the pass from defender was terrible). The highlight for me was on the train to the game seeing an American/Iraqi with his son who was 7/8 years old dressed in their Iraqi shirts carrying Iraqi flags and thinking how rare it must be for them to be able to show their roots without fear in America. As an Irishman in suburban Long Island, I know I can fly an Irish flag outside my house without ant problem. An Iraqi flag? Going by the way some of the people talk here in my town, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Thanks John. As an African myself, I certainly feel an affinity with other African nations. I know that my fellow countrymen in South Africa are not showing much of the Ubuntu spirit right now, but I’d like to believe it still exists. And what is a border between nations anyway? Are we not all neighbours on this big rock floating in space?

Neither team has kept a clean sheet so far (though admittedly they have both faced Haaland and Mbappe).

So expect goals.

Senegal need at least two. A -1 goal difference should be enough to squeeze through to the last 32.