Senegal vs Iraq

Current version

What shaped the view

• First-half references lean toward Senegal pressure: Home -0.75 at 1.80 and Over 1.25 at 1.80 signal an expected early push, but first-half markets are reference-only. Matchday 3 escalation is high because both sides need a win and Iraq may have to open earlier if trailing.
• Senegal’s 4-2-3-1 gives them more late margin-building depth: Mané/Sarr/Mbaye/Camara start, with Jackson, Iliman Ndiaye, Bamba Dieng, Assane Diao and Cherif Ndiaye available if they need fresh attackers. Iraq have Al-Hamadi supported by Ali Jasim, Bayesh, Iqbal and Qasem, but their bench is more likely to be used chasing than controlling if behind.
• Group I context drives the pick: France and Norway are on 6 points, while Senegal and Iraq are both on 0, so top two is gone and only a best-third-place route remains. A draw leaves both effectively out; a loss ends realistic survival; a win puts the winner on 3 points, with Senegal’s -3 GD far more repairable than Iraq’s -6, so Senegal have stronger reason to extend rather than protect a narrow lead. Finishing 1st or 2nd is unavailable; any Senegal advance would be as 3rd into one of the fixed R32 third-place paths against a group winner, so GD/GF matter more than path selection. Closest rejected market was Over 3.25: it fits the chase script, but needs Iraq scoring/late chaos, while Home -2 benefits from the same open game plus Senegal’s superior attacking bench.