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‘It hurts’ – Pape Thiaw reacts to Senegal’s heartbreaking World Cup exit
02nd July, 2026 11:24 AM
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has rued his team’s failure to hold on to its two-goal lead en route to elimination from the 2026 World Cup at the hands of Belgium on Wednesday, July 2, 2026.
The African giants suffered the worst implosion yet of the World Cup edition, spurning a two-goal lead to lose out 3-2 in extra time, just minutes from securing a historic berth in the competition’s round of 16 and a potential fixture with the USA.
In an interview after the clash, a forlorn and dejected gaffer admitted that the outcome was tough to take as he congratulated Belgium for their hard-fought victory.
“We are out; it hurts. We must congratulate the team, who gave it their all, but unfortunately, we were not able to hold on to our two-goal lead.
“Congratulations to the Belgian team, who have gone through. We have to accept this; that’s football,” he said to FIFA.
Diatta laments lapses
Krepin Diatta, the right back, echoed his coach’s remarks, terming it a pity how the team let go of the lead at such a level to crash out of the competition.
The outgoing Monaco ace, however, refused to apportion blame to individual players, asserting that the defeat is a collective blow they all take.
“The problem was with us. We believed we had to win and needed to do all to fix our defence and not allow them in. When we make mistakes, it is a collective defeat hard to take, but life goes on.
Diatta maintained that the team ought to have seen the game out, having shown glimpses of improvement from their mixed run in the preliminary stages.
Garcia credits subs’ impact.
“Unlike our three games in the group games, today we were more solid, and we lost control of the game; it should not happen at this level. We had to defend our box, but we did not do that in the final ten minutes and lost the game,” he lamented.
Thiaw’s opposite number, Rudi Garcia, was praiseworthy of his team’s fighting spirit, acknowledging that he believed his team could come back to the game despite trailing by two goals with only four minutes to play.
“In football, anything is always possible as long as you believe in it. The strength of this squad also lies in the players who come off the bench, because you cannot get results with just eleven players. We made the necessary adjustments from the second half of the first half onwards; we were playing key passes from too far out when there was no need to. We sorted that out, and things improved, even though we conceded the second goal.”
The dramatic outcome has called into question the tactical discipline of African teams, exposing a lack of composure in the final stages. Senegal now joins Ivory Coast and DR Congo on the list of tournament casualties sent packing after conceding last-gasp goals.
