Pape Gueye has issued a bombshell statement as Senegal exited the World Cup after Belgium staged a dramatic comeback to win 3-2 after extra-time06:07, 02 Jul 2026Senegal star Pape Gueye has gone on strike from the international team sparking a row with head coach Pape Thiaw. The Villarreal midfielder says he will be taking a break from the squad while the technical team is in place in the wake of their 3-2 World Cup exit to Belgium.‌Gueye, 27, took to social media to drop the bombshell news after the African nation was rocked following their World Cup exit. Senegal conceded two goals in two-and-a-half minutes during their round of 32 elimination against Belgium as they surrendered their place in the last-16, losing 3-2 in extra-time.‌Habiib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr put Senegal into a comfortable lead as they looked set to book their place in Tuesday's Round of 16 showdown with USA. However, goals from Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans spared the blushes of Rudi Garcia's side with the Aston Villa star winning and scoring a 125th-minute penalty.‌Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!In a post to his Instagram story, the 27-year-old said: "l'Il be back to give you a few words regarding elimination... but l announce today that as long as it's this technical staff l'II take a break from the selection."Gueye was brought off shortly after the hour mark, while Senegal had a two-goal lead, with Thiaw bringing on Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara.‌In the final 10 minutes, the game sparked into life with Romelu Lukaku steering home from a tight angle to reduce the deficit. Before Senegal could fully adjust to seeing their advantage halved, they found themselves level when Leandro Trossard's cross was nodded home by Tielemans.Belgium were on the ropes and were well-beaten by Senegal before the door was opened for a comeback. A penalty deep into the second-half of extra-time, awarded after the intervention of the video assistant referee, allowed for Tielemans to complete the turnaround for Garcia's side.‌Following the defeat, 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."I am sad, the players are sad too, because they really wanted this qualification."‌Gueye, who scored twice in the 5-0 win over Iraq, was replaced by Camara shortly after the hour mark. The 45-year-old suggested that some of the substitutions were enforced after players asked the manager to be brought off.Everton's Iliman Ndiaye and Habib Diarra of Sunderland were replaced during the second-half before the turnaround while Sadio Mane and Idrissa Gana Gueye were both brought 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 play USA in the next round after Mauricio Pochettino's side beat Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-0. Florian Balogun went from hero to zero, scoring before being sent off but Malik Tillman secured their progression eight minutes from time.Wednesday's exit marks the latest flashpoint in a controversial few months for Senegalese football after Thiaw dragged his players off during their memorable Africa Cup of Nations final with Morocco. Senegal had conceded a stoppage-time penalty to the hosts, leading to the tactician calling his players off the pitch in protest to the decision.Article continues belowOnce play resumed, Senegal stunned Morocco in extra-time to secure a famous win but since then, they have been declared to forfeit the match for walking off during the 90 minutes.