Senegal star Pape Gueye has threatened never to play for the Lions of Teranga again if the current technical bench remains in charge.
Gueye’s comments came just after Senegal suffered a late, heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Belgium in a World Cup Round of 32 encounter on Wednesday.
“I’ll be back to give you a few words regarding elimination… but I announce today that as long as it’s this technical staff, I’ll take a break from the selection,” Gueye, who had been a key figure for his country during the tournament, wrote on his Instagram story.
Thiaw faces mounting criticism
Gueye’s comment adds to the criticism his head coach has been facing, especially regarding his game management.
The decision to remove Gueye and other key stars while leading also generated more criticism for the coach. However, Thiaw insisted the changes against Belgium were not tactical blunders and said the substituted players were already tired.
“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,” Thiaw explained.
“Of course, when you lose a match after leading 2-0, people inevitably talk about the substitutes. But you can’t reduce everything to that. These changes were primarily dictated by fatigue, more than by tactical considerations.”
On the late loss to Belgium, Thiaw said, “We just lost a match that was really important to us. We wanted to qualify for the Senegalese people; we thought we deserved it, but unfortunately, we are eliminated. I am sad; the players are sad too, because they really wanted this qualification.”
