Thiaw: Gueye Quits Senegal Team After World Cup Exit

Senegal midfielder, Pape Gueye, has announced that he will step away from international football for as long as head coach Pape Thiaw remains in charge of the Teranga Lions.

Naija News reports that the 27-year-old made the announcement on social media shortly after Senegal crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Belgium after extra time in their Round of 16 clash.

In a post written in French, Gueye said he would speak more about the team’s elimination later but made it clear that he would not continue under the current technical crew.

“I’ll come back to speak about our elimination, but today I announce that as long as this technical staff remains, I will take a break from the national team,” he wrote.

Senegal appeared to be heading for the quarter-finals after first-half goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr gave them a 2-0 lead.

However, Belgium fought back late in the game, with Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scoring to force extra time.

Tielemans then converted a penalty in the 125th minute after a VAR review to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory for Belgium.

The defeat ended Senegal’s hopes of recording their first World Cup knockout-stage victory since reaching the quarter-finals on their tournament debut in 2002.

Gueye’s decision has increased pressure on Thiaw, whose substitutions while Senegal were defending a two-goal advantage have attracted criticism from fans and pundits.

Reacting after the match, Thiaw defended his decisions, saying the changes were forced by fatigue and not tactical misjudgment.

“They were tired and couldn’t continue. Leaving them on the field would have been unprofessional on our part. We had to replace them like-for-like,” the coach said.

“Of course, when you lose a match after leading 2-0, people will talk about the substitutions. But you can’t reduce everything to that. These changes were dictated primarily by fatigue rather than tactical considerations.”