Pape Gueye goes on strike and blasts Senegal coaching staff immediately after World Cup exit

The dust had barely settled on Senegal’s round-of-32 defeat to Belgium before midfielder Pape Gueye lambasted the coaching staff.

The Lions of Teranga looked to be sailing to the last-16 of the World Cup only to throw away a two-goal lead and lose 3-2 to the Red Devils.

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And immediately after the defeat, Gueye took to Instagram to announce a boycott and issue an ultimatum towards the Senegal backroom staff.

“l’Il be back to give you a few words regarding elimination… but l announce today that as long as it’s this technical staff l’II take a break from the selection,” the 27-year-old posted.

Goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr either side of half time put Senegal into a commanding position.

Gueye, who started three of Senegal’s four 2026 World Cup matches, was then withdrawn midway through the second half, as Pape Thiaw replaced the Villarreal man with Lamine Camara.

However, Belgium mounted a comeback through Romelu Lukaku in the 86th minute.

And three minutes later, the Red Devils were level as Premier League pair Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans combined for the latter to score to take the game to extra time.

The knockout stage clash seemed destined for penalties only for referee Said Martinez to be called to the pitchside monitor by the VAR after Tielemans appeared to be fouled by Camara.

The Aston Villa man then made no mistake from 12 yards to send Belgium into the next round of the World Cup.

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It isn’t the first time that Senegal have conceded a late penalty in a major tournament match.

What happened in the AFCON final?

Senegal and Morocco contested the 2025 AFCON final back in January.

And the Atlas Lions were awarded a contentious penalty in second-half stoppage-time, which prompted the Senegal players to leave the field of play.

After 15 minutes of chaos, Senegal returned to the field of play only for Brahim Diaz to tamely Panenka his penalty into the hands of Edouard Mendy.

It was Gueye who then scored the winning goal in the first half of extra time as Senegal claimed their second AFCON success in their history.

However, Morocco were then named champions back in March as the Confederation of African Football (CaF) overturned the result following Senegal’s walk-off.

The Senegalese Football Federation appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, though are still awaiting an outcome of their appeal.