Pape Thiaw departs the Senegal head coach role after 19 months in the job [Albert Gea/Reuters]By ReutersPublished On 12 Jul 202612 Jul 2026Senegal fired coach Pape Thiaw on Saturday, saying their results at the World Cup necessitated a change at the helm of the team.
Senegal had hoped to be contenders at the World Cup, after beating Morocco in January’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, but had a disappointing tournament in which they lost their opening two group games to France and Norway and let slip a 2-0 lead with five minutes remaining against Belgium in the last 32 before going down 3-2 in extra time.
Thiaw, 45, was due to begin a five-match ban in September at the start of the 2027 Cup of Nations qualifiers because he led a walk-off of players in protest at the penalty that Morocco were awarded in the 2025 final in Rabat.
French daily L’Equipe reported that Patrick Vieira, the French World Cup winner who was born in Dakar, was among the favourites to take over.
