FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Sadio Mané has given Senegal a 'little chance' of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup knockouts, after the Lions of Teranga were defeated 3-2 by Norway in New Jersey on Monday.
The four-time World Cup qualifiers -- who won the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in January -- were expected to be one of the continent's best hopes at the World Cup, but are instead staring at elimination after a second consecutive defeat.
After losing their opener 3-1 to France, they were seen off 3-2 by Norway at the MetLife Stadium in an error-strewn display, and must now defeat Iraq in their final group game to stand any chance of progression.
"I think that we still have a little chance," Mane told ESPN. "Of course, we still believe in qualification, but we need to remobilise as early as possible.
"We're going to already start preparing for the next game, and we hope that time will be the best judge."
Only victory against Iraq will be sufficient for Senegal to stand a chance of advancing as one of the best eight third-placed teams, and even then, they would likely need to score at least two goals to begin to compensate for a goal difference that currently stands at minus three.
"Nothing's finished yet," Idrissa Gueye told ESPN. "Things aren't great for us, but we need to rest now and then take stock before our last match.
"It's up to the staff now to watch this match back and decide what to change before the [Iraq] game. Things aren't working at the moment, but we still have to finish things off. We still hope in qualification.
"As players, we're ready to give everything on the pitch and sacrifice ourselves for our objective."
Senegal were firmly second best against Norway, falling behind in the 43rd minute through Marcus Pedersen and then conceding twice to Erling Haaland in the second half despite responding twice themselves through Ismaïla Sarr.
Much of the control and defensive sturdiness that have characterised Senegal's displays in recent years were absent, with experienced centreback Kalidou Koulibaly notably at fault for two of Norway's goals.
"The gods of football were not with us tonight," Mane continued. "As everyone can see, we're very disappointed.
"We went out onto the pitch to win this match, but I think ultimately that Norway deserve their victory.
"Now, we have to stick together and remobilise quickly."
Senegal and Iraq both head into their final match on zero points with third place in the group behind France and Norway (both on six points) the best they can hope for.
Senegal and Iraq meet in Toronto on Friday, while Norway and France complete their group-stage campaign at the same time in Foxborough.