Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye has said he will stay away from international football for as long as head coach Pape Thiaw remains in charge after the Teranga Lions crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 27-year-old shared the announcement on social media soon after Senegal threw away a two-goal lead and lost 3-2 to Belgium after extra time in their Round of 16 match.
Writing in French, Gueye said he would speak later about Senegal’s exit but made it clear he would not return while the current technical staff remains.
“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 were on course for a quarter-final place after first-half goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr gave the African champions a 2-0 lead.
But Belgium fought back. Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scored late to send the game into extra time before Tielemans converted a penalty in the 125th minute. The spot-kick was awarded after a VAR review as Belgium sealed a dramatic 3-2 win.
The loss ended Senegal’s hope of recording their first World Cup knockout victory since reaching the quarter-finals in their tournament debut in 2002.
Gueye’s announcement has added more pressure on Thiaw, whose substitutions while trying to protect the two-goal lead have faced heavy criticism from fans and pundits.
After the match, Thiaw stood by his decisions, saying the changes were made because players were exhausted, not for tactical reasons.
“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.”
