Iran face an anxious wait to see if they will progress to the World Cup knockout stages after they came from behind to hold Egypt to a 1-1 draw and finish third in Group G. Egypt, whose qualification for the last-32 was already guaranteed, took the lead inside five minutes through Mahmoud Saber, before Ramin Rezaeian equalised from a tight angle in the 14th minute of a frantic start.
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Cape Verde, with Shamrock Rovers’ Pico Lopes in their ranks, have reached the knockout stage of the World Cup, becoming the smallest country in history to qualify for the next phase of the competition after a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia.
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Uruguay are out of the World Cup after another costly error by Fernando Muslera led to defeat by Spain – with head coach Marcelo Bielsa substituting the legendary goalkeeper at half-time. European champions Spain were already practically guaranteed a place in the last 32 before kick-off, but Alex Baena’s strike late in the first half meant they topped Group H and will face the runners-up of Group J.
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Ousmane Dembele scored a stunning first-half hat-trick as France secured top spot in their World Cup group with a convincing 4-1 win over much-changed Norway. The Paris Saint-Germain star struck three times in the opening 32 minutes in Boston as France maintained their 100% record in Group I in the absence of coach Didier Deschamps.
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Senegal cruised to a 5-0 victory over 10-man Iraq in Toronto to move into the top eight best third-placed sides. Habib Diarra opened the scoring after four minutes before Rebin Sulaka was sent off for eliminated Iraq for bringing down Sadio Mane in the 13th minute. Ismaila Sarr added a goal and an assist, and there was a stunning second-half brace from substitute Pape Gueye before Iliman Ndiaye added a valuable fifth towards Senegal’s goal difference.
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