{"id":511114,"date":"2026-06-25T22:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/511114\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T22:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:16:08","slug":"senegals-world-cup-is-hanging-by-a-thread-after-comedy-of-errors-on-and-off-pitch-senegal-football-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/511114\/","title":{"rendered":"Senegal\u2019s World Cup is hanging by a thread after comedy of errors on and off pitch | Senegal football team"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the most successful president in F\u00e9d\u00e9ration S\u00e9n\u00e9galaise de Football (FSF) history, Augustin Senghor was looking forward to overseeing the Lions of Teranga\u2019s World Cup<\/a> campaign, after doing the same for those in Russia and Qatar. But the 60-year-old lawyer, who doubles as the mayor of Gor\u00e9e island \u2013 the point from where large numbers of Africans were shipped to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade \u2013 surprisingly lost his job in last August\u2019s FSF elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter losing the election I decided to stay quiet and not talk too much about football, to allow the new administration to take charge, with my cooperation and full support,\u201d Senghor told the Guardian. His achievements and the largely professional manner in which the FSF was led during his presidency have become a talking point in Senegal as the comedy of errors in governance by the new FSF administration, led by Abdoulaye Fall, comes to light.<\/p>\n

Pape Thiaw, the head coach, had been without an employment contract since February and was also owed five months of unpaid wages, which led him to refuse to travel to the United States for the World Cup until Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Senegal\u2019s president, intervened. \u201cWhen this situation happened, Pape called me to discuss it,\u201d said Senghor. \u201cI told him that he had to focus on the assignment for our nation and not be distracted. Seeing our nation do well is what is more important.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany in the country have been asking why there are so many problems with the management of the team, as they say that this was unheard of during my time. I have chosen to stay silent until the first anniversary of my departure as FSF president. That is when I will speak my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before Senegal\u2019s 3-2 loss to Norway<\/a> on Monday, Thiaw announced his contractual and salary problems had been resolved. Sources within Senegalese football reported a $100,000-per-month salary demand as the sticking point that led to the months-long negotiation gridlock with the national government, which pays the wages. Unable to hide his impatience with those protracted talks, Thiaw was emphatic that his financial demands were never the problem. \u201cIt was not never a money issue but a principles and respect issue,\u201d he said. This all came after the fallout from January\u2019s extraordinary Africa Cup of Nations final<\/a> in Rabat.<\/p>\n

Pape Thiaw, Senegal\u2019s head coach, initially refused to travel to the World Cup because of unpaid wages. Photograph: Richard Sellers\/Getty Images\/Allstar<\/p>\n

Senegal are now facing the uphill task of earning a last-32 berth at the World Cup, after losses to France and Norway \u2013 the first time the Lions have lost two consecutive matches at a finals since making their impressive debut in 2002. Thiaw is facing sharp criticism from home and the Senegalese media, about his player selection and game management before Friday\u2019s final group game against Iraq.<\/p>\n

Kalidou Koulibaly is clearly suffering from an unusual lack of fitness, having not played competitively since early April, after sustaining a muscle injury during a training session with the Saudi club Al-Hilal. Koulibaly did not hesitate to admit after the loss to Norway that he had failed to meet his exacting playing standards, which earned the towering centre-back rave reviews during his time at Napoli. \u201cEvery ball I touched went wrong,\u201d said Koulibaly. \u201cI made a lot of mistakes [and] that\u2019s really unfortunate, because losing a match in this way is a real shame, especially at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the level here is very high, and you can\u2019t afford mistakes \u2013 we made too many to be able to win the match. It happened to me, tomorrow it could happen to someone else. I just hope I can continue helping the team. We have to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalidou Koulibaly profile<\/a><\/p>\n

There is also confusion and frustration over Thiaw\u2019s reluctance to use the exciting young talent in his squad. Tottenham\u2019s Pape Matar Sarr, for instance, should have stood in for Koulibaly against Norway. Not playing the 23-year-old against Iraq would be foolhardy.<\/p>\n

Sadio Man\u00e9, Senegal\u2019s talisman for so long, has also been inconsequential at this World Cup, which will be his last. Thiaw needs the 34-year-old to rediscover his attacking verve against Iraq and goes into that game acutely aware of one unvarnished fact: should Senegal fail to win in Toronto by a significant margin, his period in charge of the national team could well come to an unplanned halt, after only 18 fraught months in charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the most successful president in F\u00e9d\u00e9ration S\u00e9n\u00e9galaise de Football (FSF) history, Augustin Senghor was looking forward to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-511114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}