Senegal fired coach Pape Bouna Thiaw, 45, on July 11, 2026, citing the team’s results at the World Cup as the main reason for the decision [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The Senegal Football Federation said, "After a thorough evaluation of the sporting results and prospects of the national team, we have dismissed Thiaw in the best interests of Senegalese football" [3].
The team entered the 2026 World Cup with hopes high after initially winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January 2026 by beating Morocco in the final, though that title was later overturned amid ongoing appeals involving the Court of Arbitration for Sport [2, 3, 6]. Earlier in January, Coach Thiaw led a player walkoff to protest a penalty awarded to Morocco in the AFCON final, which triggered a five-match ban for Thiaw starting September 2026 during the 2027 AFCON qualifiers [1, 2, 4, 5, 6].
In World Cup play, Senegal lost their opening two group matches against France and Norway, putting them in a difficult position early on [1, 2, 3, 5, 6]. The team recovered somewhat in their final group game by thrashing Iraq 5-0, securing advancement to the knockout stage as the eighth-best third-placed team [2, 3].
Senegal’s round of 32 match against Belgium ended in heartbreak. Despite leading 2-0 with five minutes remaining, they conceded two late goals and a penalty in extra time to lose 3-2 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. This collapse cemented disappointment around the team’s World Cup campaign.
The World Cup exit exposed fractures within the squad as well. Midfielder Pape Gueye publicly stated he would not represent Senegal again until Thiaw was dismissed, saying, "I would not represent my country again until Thiaw was dumped" [2, 3].
French sports daily L’Equipe reported that Patrick Vieira, the French 1998 World Cup winner born in Dakar, is a leading candidate to replace Thiaw as Senegal’s coach [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]. The Senegal Football Federation has scheduled a press conference for July 13, 2026, likely to address the coaching vacancy [2, 4, 6].
