🙏 Sarr joins national icon in Senegal's World Cup pantheon | OneFootball

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.

📸 CHARLY TRIBALLEAU - AFP or licensors