Overview
- Senegal surrendered a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 to Belgium in the World Cup round of 32 after Romelu Lukaku scored late and Youri Tielemans converted a VAR-awarded penalty.
- Hours after the defeat Pape Gueye posted that he will stop accepting national-team selection as long as the current technical staff remain in place.
- Coach Pape Thiaw substituted Gueye midway through the second half, replacing him with Lamine Camara, a change that coverage links to the match's late collapse.
- Gueye scored the extra-time winner in the 2025 AFCON final but the Confederation of African Football later overturned that result and the Senegalese Football Federation has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
- The boycott deepens an internal crisis that may force SFF decisions on coaching and selection and makes the unresolved CAS appeal a central factor in how the dispute is settled.