Senegal lost to Norway (3-2) on the second day of Group I of the 2026 World Cup, at the end of a hard-fought match full of twists and turns.
Despite the defeat, Ismaïla Sarr delivered a standout performance, scoring a brace, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Lions’ loss.
At the final whistle, the Senegalese winger expressed his frustration and bitterness at the way the match unfolded: “We started the match very well, we worked hard. Unfortunately, we conceded two goals in the second half, another very early goal.
“We kept working, kept pushing, but well… I’m speechless because we shouldn’t have done that. But, that’s football. We’ll keep working and we have to make our people proud.”
Despite their efforts, Senegal couldn’t find an equalizer in a match where Norway proved more clinical in the key moments.
The Lions will now have to quickly regroup for the remainder of the competition to stay in contention in this particularly tough Group I. The defeat left the Lions of Teranga without a point after two matches and in serious danger of an early exit from the tournament.
Norway, by contrast, secured their place in the round of 32 with one group match still to play, joining France on six points at the top of the section. Senegal will now need to beat Iraq in their final group match in Toronto and hope results elsewhere go their way to keep their World Cup campaign alive.
