World Cup 2026: Pape Thiaw confident ahead of Belgium vs Senegal clash

01.07.26 AET World Cup

Belgium

3

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Senegal

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Ahead of their Round of 16 clash in the World Cup against Belgium, Pape Thiaw exudes calm, determination, and high ambition. The Senegalese coach set the tone during Tuesday's press conference.

"A new tournament begins now," Pape Thiaw declared. For Senegal, this phrase means everything after the “Lions of Teranga” endured a tough group stage: losing 1-3 to France and 2-3 to Norway. But they roared back in the dying moments, demolishing Iraq 5-0 to claim a spot in the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams.

“We are facing the group winner while we qualified as one of the best third-placed sides. A win here would give us huge momentum going forward. We’ve survived a very tough group. The most important thing was to qualify, and now we must go further,” said Pape Thiaw.

But the Lions of Teranga coach remains confident and underlined his squad’s determination.

We enter this match with tremendous determination and confidence, while holding great respect for the Belgian team. Belgium is a footballing powerhouse and had a brilliant group stage. We are ready and determined to give everything we have to keep our World Cup journey alive.

The Belgium vs Senegal match is scheduled to kick off at 20:00 GMT at Lumen Field in Seattle, United States.

Nafongo TRAORE |

News Editorfr, ar, en

Nafongon Moussa TRAORE, Burkinabè de 25 ans, est passionné de football, est rédacteur pour Foot Africa et commentateur pour BurkiFoot.

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