Koulibaly: I Made Many Mistakes Against Norway

Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly admitted to making numerous errors during his team's World Cup group stage loss to Norway, a result that has put the African side in jeopardy of an early exit.

Koulibaly's mistakes contributed to Norway's 3-2 victory, securing their spot in the next round alongside France. Senegal, who were considered dark horses before the tournament, are still without a point and must defeat Iraq in Toronto on Friday to have any chance of progressing as one of the best third-placed teams.

"At the highest level, football comes down to details. The team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. I made a lot of mistakes, and that's a real shame," Koulibaly stated after the match.

"The World Cup level is very high, so there's no room for errors. We made too many to have any chance of winning the game," he added.

Koulibaly misjudged a clearance, and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy failed to stop a shot from substitute Marcus Pedersen, giving Norway the lead just before halftime.

The 35-year-old defender, whose place was already under scrutiny after their opening Group I loss to France, was also at fault for both of Erling Haaland's second-half goals. Despite the defensive lapses, Senegal occasionally looked dangerous on the counter-attack, with Ismaila Sarr scoring twice, including one in added time.

"Chasing the game is incredibly difficult. Mentally, the team reacted well. Despite the setbacks, there was a surge of energy, and the players did everything they could to try and secure a draw, but we couldn't. You have to believe until the very end," added Koulibaly, who was substituted in the 72nd minute.

"Now we must believe until the very end. We will play an important match against Iraq and we will try to win," the captain concluded, as quoted by Reuters.