FIFA World Cup 2026: Pape Gueye announces "break" from Senegal team post WC exit; lashes out at technical staff

Seattle [US], July 2 (ANI): Senegal and Villarreal defensive midfielder Pape Gueye announced that he is taking a break from the national side as long as the current technical staff stays in charge, showing the first signs of tensions within the team after a heartbreaking loss to Belgium in their round of 32 clash on Wednesday.

Senegal appeared to be cruising towards a place in the last 16 after establishing a two-goal lead against Belgium in Seattle before suffering one of the tournament's most dramatic collapses. After Senegal established a two-goal lead by the 51st minute, Romelu Lukaku (86th minute) and Youri Tielemans (89th minute) changed the course of the game, taking it to extra time.

Tielemans took the penalty after the VAR review awarded his team one for Lamine Camara's foul on Tielemans, sealing one of the tournament's most dramatic victories and rewriting the World Cup record books.

His winning penalty in the 124th minute and 44th second broke the previous timeline records for late game-winners, becoming the latest goal ever scored in FIFA World Cup history. From the jubilation of a two-goal lead, Senegal left with their hearts broken and dreams shattered within the matter of the next hour or so.

Taking to Instagram, Gueye wrote in his local language, translating to, "I will come back later to talk about the elimination. But, right now, I am announcing that, as long as this technical staff remains in charge, I will be taking a break from the National Team."

Gueye was substituted after an hour of action, with the manager Pape Thiaw bringing in Lamine Camara.

He had been the team's standout performer in the tournament with three goals and an assist, earning a 'Player of the Match' against Iraq in a 5-0 win.

Despite the defeat, Senegal also achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first African nation to score 10 goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup. (ANI)

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