Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye has announced that he will no longer play for the national team as long as the current technical crew remains in charge.
Gueye made the declaration shortly after Senegal’s painful 3-2 defeat to Belgium, a match in which the Teranga Lions surrendered a two-goal lead before crashing out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 27-year-old took to social media after the game to express his frustration, saying he would speak more about Senegal’s elimination later, but had already decided to step away from the national team under the present coaching staff.
“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 looked to be heading for a famous victory after Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr scored in the first half to give the African side a 2-0 lead.
But Belgium fought back late, with Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scoring to force extra time.
Tielemans later completed the comeback from the penalty spot in the 125th minute after a VAR review, handing Belgium a dramatic 3-2 victory and sending Senegal out of the tournament.
The defeat ended Senegal’s hopes of reaching the latter stages of the World Cup and recording another historic knockout triumph, more than two decades after their famous run to the quarter-finals in 2002.
Gueye’s decision has now turned the painful exit into a full-blown crisis for Senegal’s technical crew.
Head coach Pape Thiaw has come under heavy criticism over his substitutions while Senegal were trying to protect their two-goal lead.
Fans and pundits questioned whether the changes weakened the team and allowed Belgium to regain control of the match.
Thiaw, however, defended his decisions, insisting that the substitutions were forced by fatigue and not by poor tactical judgement.
“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,” he said.
The coach admitted that his changes would naturally come under scrutiny because Senegal lost after leading 2-0, but insisted there was more to the defeat than the substitutions.
“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,” he added.
Gueye’s public withdrawal from the national team has now increased pressure on Thiaw and the Senegalese football authorities.
What began as a heartbreaking World Cup defeat has quickly become a dressing-room revolt, with one of Senegal’s key players openly refusing to continue under the current technical staff.
Senegal must now deal not only with the pain of elimination, but also with the bigger question of whether the team can remain united after such a damaging collapse.
