Senegalese Sports Minister, Khady Diene, has set sights on securing the World Cup for the first time in their history with coach Pape Thiaw in charge.
Impressed by the coach performance after AFCON success, the Senegalese Sports Ministry has moved to tie down Thiaw, with his current contract expiring in February 2026.
Having secured the AFCON 2025 title, Diene is looking forward to securing a historic World Cup title as the team gears up for the global showpiece in June.
“Is there a possibility of a pay rise for the coach? Yes, I can confirm that here. He has achieved his goals by qualifying the team for the World Cup and winning the Africa Cup of Nations. You don’t change a winning team, do you? So we will try to continue with him. And for this continuity, which achieves great things, great things will come.
“We are going to review the initial contract. There was a clause in his contract that stipulated not only reaching the AFCON final, but also winning the cup. As we aspire to win our first world trophy and be the first African country to win the World Cup, we need to provide our coach with the best possible conditions for performance, so that he has peace of mind and does not have to worry about money or day-to-day issues,” said Khady Diene during a discussion with the local press.
Senegal will open their World Cup account against their colonial masters, France in a high-stake Group I clash at the global showpiece to be co-hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The tournament, scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in North America promises to be an exciting one, with 48 countries set to battle it out for the covetous trophy.
It will be Senegal’s fourth World Cup appearance, having previously competed in 2002, 2018 and 2022 tournaments, with their best performance coming in 2002 when they reached the quarterfinals.
The Taranga Lions became the second African nation to reach the quarterfinals of the global showpiece after Cameroon, defeating Poland in the last 16 of the tournament. Unfortunately, the African giants were booted out of the competition after falling short to Turkey in the quarterfinals.
In 2018, they reached the group stage, and in 2022, they made it to the round of 16, losing to England 3-0.
