Deux matchs, deux défaites: l´orgueil de trop [ PAR F. Wade]
Senegal, the African champions, find themselves on the brink of elimination in the group stage. The contrast is stark: while other African teams advance, the Lions of Teranga sink deeper into doubt.
This decline is not due to a lack of talent, but to selection choices that are difficult to defend. The coach persisted with key players who were aging, worn out, diminished, or lacking match fitness, while the bench offered freshness, desire, and solutions.
The most incomprehensible aspect remains the refusal to learn from the heavy defeat against France. The team had then revealed its physical and tactical limitations. Yet, against Norway, almost the same starting eleven was fielded, as if the warnings from the pitch, analysts, and the public were completely ignored.
The case of Ibrahima Mbaye sums up this mess.
The only Senegalese goalscorer against France, he has so far only been given scraps of playing time. Yet every time he comes on, he brings speed, dynamism, and efficiency. Leaving him on the bench is less a sporting decision than a matter of stubbornness.
In football, when pride takes precedence over discernment, it always ends up costing more than defeat.
Senegal has therefore lost a second time, not for lack of resources, but because its coach seems to have wanted to defend his convictions before the interests of the team.
This bet has now lost.
The limit seems to have been reached. If the Federation wants to avoid this failure turning into a shipwreck, it will have to ask the real question: should this adventure be extended, or should the contract be terminated before it is too late?
Today, Senegal no longer has its destiny entirely in its own hands, while some nations, sometimes novices at this level of competition, are achieving remarkable runs in equally challenging groups, the Lions of Teranga see their future looking bleak.
The irony of the situation is striking. Just yesterday, the coach was making headlines due to discussions surrounding his contract. Now, fully confirmed in his position, he is leading the national team to the brink of disaster and jeopardizing the hopes of an entire nation.
Professional football operates according to a results-oriented logic.
Recognition for past successes, including a historic continental title, should not prevent a clear-eyed assessment of the present.
In major footballing nations, players with sometimes more impressive track records have been dismissed for results deemed insufficient.
The Senegalese Football Federation will therefore have to show composure.
Neither emotion, nor favoritism, nor excessive gratitude should guide his decision. Only results and the ability to project the team into the future should determine whether or not the coach continues his adventure at the helm of the Lions of Teranga.
Because in football, the past builds the legend, but only the present decides the future.
June 24, 2026
F. Wade
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