The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has moved to dismiss head coach Pape Thiaw and his entire technical staff, a decision announced late on Saturday following the team’s elimination in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.

Senegal’s tournament ended with a 3-2 extra-time defeat to Belgium, after having led 2-0 until the 86th minute. Two Belgian strikes in the closing moments of normal time forced an additional thirty minutes, and a penalty in the 125th minute finally broke Senegalese resistance. The collapse compounded a group stage in which Thiaw’s side lost to France and Norway before a 5-0 victory over Iraq secured, by a slender margin, their passage as one of the best third-placed finishers.

The World Cup exit was the culmination of six months of turbulence. In January, Thiaw led Senegal to a 1-0 victory over Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final – but the match is remembered less for Pape Gueye’s winning goal than for the 15-minute stoppage after Thiaw ordered his players off the pitch in protest at a late penalty awarded to Morocco. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) later overturned the result, awarding Morocco a 3-0 forfeit win and stripping Senegal of the title, while suspending Thiaw for five matches. The Senegalese federation, calling the ruling ‘iniquitous,’ appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In the United States, fissures within the squad became public. Midfielder Pape Gueye – no relation to the final’s scorer – took to Instagram to declare he would ‘never return to the national team as long as Thiaw is coach.’ Simultaneously, Senegalese local press reported that members of the delegation hosted late-night parties in New York, with alcohol and female company, and that players were spotted buying street food after being left to fend for themselves by team management.

The FSF’s statement said the executive committee had conducted a ‘thorough evaluation’ and acted ‘in the interest of Senegalese football.’ President Abdoulaye Fall is expected to outline the reasons and the future path in a press conference on Monday. Thiaw becomes the 14th coach to lose his post in the wake of this World Cup; the federation now embarks on rebuilding before the next international cycle, with no successor yet named.