The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has fired head coach Pape Thiaw after the Teranga Lions’ dismal performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Senegal was eliminated in the round of 32 by Belgium after giving up a two-goal lead late in regulation and losing in extra time.
According to a statement from the FSF, the decision came after an evaluation of the team’s performance.
The federation also announced that president Abdoulaye Fall will address the media on Monday to explain the reasons behind the decision and describe the national team’s future orientation.
Thiaw’s fate was basically set when Senegal suffered a dramatic knockout loss to Belgium.
After taking a 2-0 lead, the African team appeared to be on their way to the last 16, but they conceded twice in the last minutes of normal time before losing in extra time.
Senegal have already had a poor group stage campaign. They lost to France and Norway before securing qualification as one of the tournament’s finest third-placed teams with a convincing victory against Iraq.
Although Thiaw had some successes, his time in leadership was marred by controversy.
One of the most significant occurred during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, when he told his players to leave the pitch after Morocco was granted a stoppage-time penalty in the final.
The incident resulted in a 17-minute wait before play restarted, with Senegal assuming they had won the title after Pape Gueye scored in extra time.
However, Morocco was later awarded the championship by an appeals committee, resulting in months of legal proceedings.
The impact spread to the national team, with midfielder Pape Gueye saying following Senegal’s World Cup defeat that he would leave international football provided the current coaching staff remained in place.
Thiaw’s future was again called into question prior to the World Cup, with rumours claiming that he refused to come to the United States for squad preparations since his contract had expired in February.
Although the FSF formally refuted the accusations at the time, rumours about his status persisted until his resignation.