Kalidou Koulibaly walked off the pitch after a 3-1 loss to France, but the Senegal captain was not ready to hang his head. Speaking after the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Koulibaly called on the Lions of Teranga to stay united and pull their focus toward what went right in the game, not just what went wrong.
The message from the skipper was clear: one result does not define a tournament. Koulibaly's call for unity is the kind of leadership Senegal fans have come to expect from him, and with two matches still to play in the group stage, the math is very much still in their favor.
How Senegal responds in their next fixture will tell us everything about the character of this squad.
Originally published by AllAfrica.