Senegal's World Cup fiasco: Pape Thiaw is "the scapegoat," says sports consultant Hervé Kouamouo

After failing to secure a victory with Senegal's Lions at the 2026 World Cup, Pape Thiaw was unable to save his job as national team coach. The Senegalese Football Federation has decided to dismiss him.

"It's not just the result that matters, it's also the content of the matches."

TV5/France 24 sports commentator Hervé Kouamouo does not fully approve of the FSF's decision. He believes Pape Thiaw is the perfect scapegoat.

"For me, he's the scapegoat, and obviously when you don't win, you're always wrong. But it's not just the result you have to look at, it's also the content of the matches. He won 20 of them. Today we have a team that is more attacking than it was before," the columnist observes.

He also points out that the Lions "won an Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) on the field."

Even regarding the content of the World Cup matches, "when you look at the game against Belgium, they dominated for almost 80 minutes, and with some beautiful phases. On the first goal, there was a minute of possession of the ball, only Spain does that kind of thing today. They lost due to individual errors at the end of the match," the sports consultant points out.

"From a defeat they built a generation that went on to win three competitions in a row."

For him, great victories can emerge from such failures as long as the table is not overturned.

“I was watching an interview with Iker Casillas today, he was asked if there was a match that changed the perspective of La Roja? He said the France-Spain match in 2006. From a defeat they built a generation that won three competitions in a row,” said Hervé Kouamouo.