Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye has declared that he will no longer represent the national team for as long as head coach Pape Thiaw and his technical crew remain in charge, following the Teranga Lions’ painful exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 27-year-old made the announcement on social media shortly after Senegal threw away a two-goal advantage to suffer a 3-2 defeat to Belgium after extra time in their Round of 16 clash.
In a post written in French, Gueye said he would later address the team’s elimination in detail but confirmed he was stepping away from international duty under the current coaching setup.
“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 destined for a place in the quarter-finals after first-half strikes from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr handed them a comfortable 2-0 lead.
However, Belgium staged a stunning late comeback, with Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scoring to force extra time before Tielemans converted a penalty in the 125th minute, following a VAR review, to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.
The loss crushed Senegal’s hopes of securing their first World Cup knockout-stage win since their historic debut campaign in 2002.
Gueye’s remarks have further increased pressure on Thiaw, whose substitutions while trying to protect the lead drew widespread criticism.
Responding after the match, Thiaw defended his decisions, insisting the changes were unavoidable because several players were exhausted.
“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.”