Not always is it said that a soldier’s experience in the battlefield became its albatross, right in the face of a life defining battle. But for the contentiously stripped African champions Senegal; it is a pity.
The Teranga Lions now have their qualification hopes from Group I at the FIFA World Cup 2026 hanging by the tiniest of threads after a self-inflicting 3-2 defeat to Norway in New Jersey on Monday evening.
It was just five months ago that Senegal dominated and entertained the rest of Africa in Morocco, winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on the pitch before provisionally losing it in the boardroom, but what was their strength now seem to have become a niggling weakness.
In that tumultuous final game in Rabat on January 18, the leadership and experience of key actors in the Teranga Lions shone through in the face of adversity. Added to a continent-wide disdain of Moroccan antics, the attributes of the players gave them huge support from African football fans.
Going into their third successive World Cup participation, a number of the Senegalese stalwarts had hoped for a sweet swansong to their illustrious national team careers but that seem to have turned into a mirage as these stalwarts have failed to sparkle when it matters most.
The Lions roared in the opening half of their group opener against France and almost took a deserved lead into the break but from the moment their strength failed them after the interval, they have failed to recover it even beyond the second game against Norway.
Like the biblical Samson shorn of his dreaded locks, Senegal’s elegant stars with more than 100 caps emerged and tried to “go out as at other times before” but as it is now evident to all; virtue had left them, much to the detriment of the Teranga Lions Pride.
Khalidou Koulibaly practically handed Norway the 375 caliber rifle with which to exterminate the Lions; 36-year old defensive midfielder, Idrissa Gana Gueye won no tackle throughout 90 minutes while the legendary Sadio Mane, despite providing a sublime assist like the times of yore, exhibited never-to-be ignored traits of a weary soldier.
An overwhelmed coach?
One of the attributes of successful football managers is their ability to decipher when youthfulness takes preeminence over experience on the football pitch. If at all the big decisions are delayed into a major competition, it should come after a first game when signs have not fully matured into definitive results.
For Pape Thiaw, it is either he believed in his own hype or perhaps the viral news in the buildup to Monday’s game – of him not having a contract nor salary – had taken a devastating toll on him, because it was implausible to see an unchanged starting XI in spite of the signs that came to the fore in that second half performance against France.
In 2013, Nigeria head coach Stephen Keshi dropped his captain Joseph Yobo to the bench after their opening game against Burkina Faso and entrusted the campaign to 19-year old defender Kenneth Omeruo, a decision that formed fulcrum for Nigeria’s last AFCON win.
Many Senegal fans after the game in New York – New Jersey said they expected younger bloods to have been injected from the start but Thiaw may just have learnt his lessons in the hardest of manners.
It was evident that at least two of the aforementioned three Senegal heroes should be made to encourage younger Lions from the bench but they will have to achieve the best scoreline in Senegal’s World Cup history when they face Iraq, if this betrayal of experience will not end up being fatal to their World Cup campaign.
