Published On 7/2/2026
The exclusion of the Senegal national team from the 2026 World Cup finals sparked a wave of anger towards coach Pape Thiaw, prompting tens of thousands of fans to demand his dismissal.
The Senegal national team gave up a 2-0 lead against Belgium in the round of 32, and conceded twice in a row in the last 5 minutes, so the match went into two additional halves, in which the “Lions of Teranga” conceded the winning goal in the fatal hour, eliminating the team from the tournament after being very close to qualifying for the final 16.
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Senegalese campaign against coach Thiaw
This “crazy scenario” caused a great shock in sports circles in Senegal, which pointed the finger of blame at coach Thiaw.
Immediately, tens of thousands of Senegalese signed a petition in which they called on their country’s Football Association to dismiss Thiaw, due to his “controversial tactical choices,” according to the local “Senenews” website.
Things did not stop there. Rather, the list that Thiaw called up to participate in the World Cup was challenged, according to the same site.
In less than 12 hours after the exclusion, the number of signatories to the electronic petition demanding Thiaw’s immediate departure exceeded 35,000 signatures.
The signatories of the petition sent to the President of the Senegalese Federation believe that the exclusion of the national team from the 2026 World Cup is the result of an accumulation of “options that were considered questionable throughout the tournament.”
Harsh criticism
Thiaw faced sharp criticism before the start of the tournament, due to his “excessive” reliance on some old players at the expense of new names worthy of wearing the Senegal jersey, and frustration reached its peak due to the scenario of the match against Belgium.
The petitioners considered that what happened in the last minutes of the second half clearly confirms the team’s lack of focus in the decisive moments.
They also criticized Thiaw for his late substitutions from their point of view, in addition to not taking full advantage of the five substitutions allowed, at a time when fitness was a decisive factor.
The signatories of the petition also call on their country’s federation to think about a new sporting direction and start a different era led by a technical staff “more compatible with football developments” and better able to exploit the potential of the young generation in Senegalese football.
