Two goals up, one round from the World Cup quarter finals, and it all falls apart in extra time. Now a key Senegal star says he’s done with the national team.

Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye has had enough. The 27 year old announced he’s stepping away from international football as long as head coach Pape Thiaw is in charge, cbinews.tv reports.

The bombshell came on social media, just hours after Senegal threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Belgium in extra time during their 2026 World Cup Round of 16 tie.

Writing in French, Gueye said he’d speak about the team’s exit later. But he was crystal clear on one thing: he won’t play under the current technical crew.

And you can see why he’s frustrated. Senegal looked home and dry after first-half goals from Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr gave the African champions a comfortable 2-0 lead. Quarter finals were calling.

Then it all unravelled. Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scored late to force extra time. In the 125th minute, Tielemans stepped up again, slotting a VAR-awarded penalty to seal a dramatic 3-2 win for Belgium.

That defeat means Senegal’s wait for a World Cup knockout win goes on. They haven’t done it since their famous quarter final run on debut back in 2002.

Gueye’s decision has only turned up the heat on Thiaw. Fans and pundits have been slamming the coach’s substitutions while trying to protect that two-goal lead.

Thiaw isn’t backing down though. After the match he defended his calls, telling cbinews.tv the changes were down to player fatigue, not tactics.

For now, the Teranga Lions are out, and they’ve lost a key midfielder in the fallout.

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