The Lions of Teranga’s journey came to an end after losing 3-2 against Belgium in the Round of 32. Senegal’s journey to the stage was not an easy one as they struggled in their group stage matches.
Senegal kicked off their Group I campaign with a 3-1 defeat against France, suffered a 3-2 defeat against Norway, but recovered to hammer Iraq 5-0 to seal the next stage as the best third placed team.
However, after the World Cup, Senegal parted ways with national team manager Pape Thiaw, after addressing the press last Monday to explain its decision.
Fall has defended the decision they took to fire coach Thiaw saying the friction the federation had with the coach had started to impact the performance of the team.
Senegalese team must come first
“There was friction in our relationship, and it impacted the national team’s performance. At a certain point, we stopped getting feedback on his work,” Fall explained as quoted by Wiw Sports.
“I no longer had any information about the team lineups. I only found out the starting 11 for our first two matches on the pitch.
“Personally, I think that's extremely serious. We shouldn't be deprived of information. When I saw that things had become complicated, I went to his room.
“It was the first time I'd ever done that. I'd never done it before, not with a player, not with a coach. I spoke to him frankly and let him know that we weren't his enemies. I told him that things could turn out badly for Senegal if he continued down that path.”
Fall added: “It’s difficult to win when there isn’t good coordination. We used to get feedback on the probable lineups the day before the match or even before kickoff. That allowed us to discuss them. At a certain point, there was a complete breakdown of trust.
“He no longer trusted us. We have to accept that. I think it impacted how the team functioned. It wasn't desirable.
On the very day of the match against Norway, the FSF's general secretary (Abdoulaye Sow) came to see me to inform me that Pape Thiaw was threatening not to sit on the bench if he didn’t sign his contract.
“So, to prevent things from escalating, we resolved the matter as quickly as possible. But the Senegalese national team must come first.
“We had to be a little more patriotic. There were situations that negatively impacted the results. And I think that at a certain point, authority was not respected. That’s unacceptable.”
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Thiaw’s like a little brother to me
Fall, however, admitted he was unhappy with the way their relationship with Thiaw came to an end.
“We are not happy with the way our collaboration with Pape Thiaw ended. He’s like a little brother to me; I say that sincerely. Our relationship goes way back; it didn’t start with the national team.
“He knows that. We had a genuine relationship, which allowed us to win (the AFCON). But I think that afterwards, things changed. There were never any contractual issues between Pape and me.
“Discussions began even before the end of the year. I made him an offer in February. At that time, he was in Saudi Arabia. He got back to me on March 8th.
“But when I reviewed his demands, I found that some of them were a bit difficult to meet. So, I called him so we could talk things through.” I then told him that if we maintained certain provisions, there would be instability around the contract.”
Senegal will shift their focus to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. Senegal have been drawn into Group J alongside Mozambique, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
