Senegal star goes on strike after World Cup exit as latest row sparked

Senegal were knocked out of the World Cup in the round of 32 and Villarreal midfielder Pape Gueye announced on Instagram that he will boycott the national team.

Senegal star Pape Gueye has withdrawn from international duty, triggering a dispute with head coach Pape Thiaw. The Villarreal midfielder announced he will step away from the squad while the current technical staff remain in post following their 3-2 World Cup elimination at the hands of Belgium.

The 27-year-old took to social media to reveal the shock decision after the African side were left reeling from their World Cup departure. Senegal shipped two goals in the space of two and a half minutes during their round of 32 clash with Belgium, surrendering a commanding position to lose 3-2 after extra time. Habiib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr had given Senegal what appeared to be a commanding advantage as they looked poised to secure their spot in Tuesday's Round of 16 encounter with USA. But strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans rescued Rudi Garcia's side, with the Aston Villa star winning and scoring a 125th-minute penalty.

In a message posted to his Instagram story, the 27-year-old said: "l'll be back to give you a few words regarding elimination... but l announce today that as long as it's this technical staff I'll take a break from the selection." Gueye was withdrawn shortly after the hour mark while Senegal held a two-goal cushion, with Thiaw introducing Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara. In the closing 10 minutes, the match burst into life as Romelu Lukaku fired home from a narrow angle to pull one back.

Before Senegal could properly reorganise after seeing their lead cut in half, they were pegged back when Tielemans headed in Leandro Trossard's delivery. Belgium had been second-best and thoroughly outplayed by Senegal before the opportunity arose for a dramatic fightback.

A spot-kick awarded deep into the second period of extra-time, following intervention from the video assistant referee, enabled Tielemans to seal a remarkable turnaround for Garcia's men. After the loss, Thiaw said: "We just lost a match that was really important to us. We wanted to qualify for the Senegalese people, we thought we deserved it, but unfortunately, we are eliminated.

Pape Gueye says he will not play for Senegal while the current management team is in charge. (Image: P.Gueye/Instagram)

Pape Gueye has sparked a new Senegal row as he has quit the national team while Pape Thiaw is there. (Image: Getty)

"I am sad, the players are sad too, because they really wanted this qualification." Gueye, who netted twice in the 5-0 thrashing of Iraq, was withdrawn for Camara just past the hour. The 45 year old hinted that certain substitutions were necessary after players requested to come off.

Everton's Iliman Ndiaye and Sunderland's Habib Diarra were both withdrawn during the second period before the comeback, while Sadio Mane and Idrissa Gana Gueye were taken off in extra-time. Thiaw said: "They were tired and couldn't continue. Leaving them on the field would have been unprofessional on our part. We had to replace them, like for like.

"Of course, when you lose a match after leading 2-0, people inevitably talk about the substitutes. But you can't reduce everything to that. These changes were primarily dictated by fatigue, more than by tactical considerations."

Belgium will face the USA in the next round following Mauricio Pochettino's side's 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Florian Balogun experienced contrasting fortunes, finding the net before receiving his marching orders, but Malik Tillman sealed their progression eight minutes from time.

Wednesday's elimination represents the latest controversy in what has been a turbulent few months for Senegalese football, coming after Thiaw led his players off the pitch during their dramatic Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco. Senegal had conceded a stoppage-time penalty to the hosts, prompting the tactician to withdraw his players from the field in protest at the decision.

When play eventually continued, Senegal shocked Morocco in extra-time to claim a historic victory, but have since been ruled to have forfeited the match for abandoning the pitch during the 90 minutes

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