Amadou Onana has said he does not want to play against Senegal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, putting a rare personal edge on a fixture Belgium is preparing for in June 2026. Speaking plainly about the matchup, the Belgium midfielder said: “Please, don’t make me play against them.”
The line matters because Onana was born in Dakar and later chose Belgium, the country he has represented since his senior debut in June 2022. He is already cap-tied to Belgium, so the decision about whether he faces Senegal is not his alone to make, even if the feeling is. For a player whose international career already includes two appearances at the 2022 World Cup and every minute of Belgium’s run at UEFA Euro 2024, this is one of the few times the draw has turned football into something more personal.
Onana’s connection to Senegal is not abstract. He was born there on August 16, 2001, moved to Belgium at the age of 11, and went on to build his international career with Belgium after breaking through in June 2022. By the time he was named in the squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he had already taken the step that fixed his senior allegiance. That is why the coming match carries more weight than a routine group-stage assignment.
The friction is obvious. Belgium may need one of its most athletic midfielders for a game that could decide its path, while Onana has been clear that the opponent is the one he least wants to meet. He has also already lived through a different kind of pressure, after being subjected to online racist abuse in August 2023 while still at Everton, an episode that triggered a police investigation. The choice to represent Belgium has brought him opportunity and scrutiny in equal measure.
Belgium’s meeting with Senegal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup now leaves one question hanging over the matchup: whether Onana will actually be asked to take part. If he does, it will be the latest example of a player carrying both the duty of a national team and the pull of a birthplace he has not forgotten.
