ATLANTA, July 2 (Reuters) - Recriminations are expected to follow swiftly after Senegal’s calamitous exit from the World Cup, with a schism apparent in the squad after they lost to Belgium in Seattle on Wednesday.
The future of coach Pape Bouna Thiaw, who is banned for the first five matches of Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, which begins in September, is in doubt after they let slip a 2-0 lead against Belgium to be catapulted out of the tournament.
Senegal were five minutes from a place in the last 16 when they allowed Belgium back into the game, and lost 3-2 in extra time after a last-gasp VAR penalty decision went against them.
Influential midfielder Pape Gueye said he would no longer play under Thiaw, posting on social media: "I'll come back later to say a few words about our elimination. But today I announce that, as long as this coaching staff remains in charge, I will take a break from the national team."
Gueye was surprisingly benched for their previous game against Iraq in Toronto last Friday but came on to score twice. He was restored to the starting line-up against Belgium, but was taken off midway through the second half.
Thiaw came in for heavy criticism in the Senegalese press.
"This historic collapse was not the players' failure but rather the product of catastrophic man-management and tactical decision-making by their coach,” wrote the Yoor-Yooir newspaper.
But after the loss to Belgium, Thiaw said some of his players had been tired and unable to keep going.
"So we had to make changes. Once you lose, you can't say they paid off, because we had had the advantage. But that's football. We have to accept it."
COACH THIAW A LAME DUCK FOR NINE MONTHS AFTER BAN
Thiaw signed a new contract and received outstanding wages before the World Cup kicked off, but his ban, for leading the team off during January’s tumultuous Africa Cup of Nations final, renders him something of a lame duck for the next nine months.
The international career of captain Kalidou Koulibaly may also end, after 105 caps, even with the next Cup of Nations finals in East Africa only a year away.
His errors in the opening two World Cup group games against France and Norway led to defeats that hit the team's confidence.
Midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye, who turns 37 in September, might be tempted to stay, especially if Senegal win their appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to regain the Cup of Nations title that they were stripped of by the Confederation of African Football.
If they do, next year’s finals, being co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will be an opportunity for a third Senegal success in four editions of the Cup of Nations – also motivation for 34-year-old Sadio Mane to keep playing for his country.
(Editing by Kevin Liffey)
