Nearly two weeks after Senegal‘s World Cup run came to an end, the federation is moving on from head coach Pape Thiaw.
The Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) announced Sunday in a statement that Thiaw and his entire technical staff had been fired following a meeting Saturday. Thiaw took over for the Senegalese national team in 2024, after leading a version of the team to victory in the 2022 African Nations Championship.
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“After a thorough evaluation of the sporting results and prospects of the national team, the Executive Committee deemed it necessary to initiate this procedure in the best interests of Senegalese football,” the statement said in French.
FSF president Abdoulaye Fall has been given the authority to reorganize the national teams as necessary, per the release. A news conference to discuss the move will take place Monday.
Senegal, despite entering the World Cup as one of the highest-ranked African teams, did not put up the strongest showing in the tournament. The Lions of Teranga finished third in a tough group, falling 3-1 to France and failing to complete a comeback against Norway.
Senegal’s 5-0 rout over Iraq, though, was enough to lift the team to the knockout round, taking the eighth and final spot among the third-place finishers.
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But the Lions of Teranga weren’t able to overcome Belgium in the Round of 32, despite getting incredibly close. Senegal controlled the first half and took an early 1-0 lead before adding another goal early in the second half. Belgium erased Senegal’s lead in a wild three-minute span, scoring goals in the 86th and 89th minutes to send the game to extra time. A penalty called late in extra time ended up giving Belgium the win.
In a postgame news conference, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia repeatedly said that Senegal “deserved to win.” Thiaw, though, was more blunt about the team’s performance, admitting that the team “fell short.”
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“A football match is not an 85-minute one. Belgium came back and we were not able to deal with that,” Thiaw said.
Now, Senegal will find a new head coach to lead the team through the next World Cup cycle.
