New head coach Patrick Vieira announces Senegal’s squad for the double header against Sudan on Thursday in Dakar at 10am local time. Sadio Mané, who missed the last gathering through injury, is set to link up with his teammates again, according to Football.fr.
Senegal’s squad will be unveiled on Thursday morning in Dakar by Patrick Vieira. It will cover the two CAF 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan, according to Football.fr. The matter is both sporting and symbolic, as the announced group will be Vieira’s first team sheet in front of his home crowd.
The match on 12 November in Dakar will in fact be his first home game in front of the Dakar public. Two names draw attention: Sadio Mané, who has not retired from international football, and Nicolas Jackson, who has made a sensational start to the season with Aston Villa.
Mané back, Jackson in form
According to Football.fr, Sadio Mané will link up with his teammates again after missing the last gathering through injury. His actual presence in Thursday’s squad list, however, remains to be confirmed by the head coach’s announcement.
Nicolas Jackson, for his part, has made a sensational start to the season with Aston Villa, again according to Football.fr. The report does not say whether the striker will be selected: only Vieira’s announcement will be definitive.
A mixed first report card
In his first matches in charge of Senegal, Patrick Vieira took just one point in Mozambique (1-1). He then won in Ethiopia (0-1), thanks to a goal from Ibrahim Mbaye in late December. A modest points tally, then, with one away win to his name.
Since then, the head coach has had to deal with absences, including that of Sadio Mané, and the international retirement of Édouard Mendy, who has ended his national team career. The Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor is unavailable due to a change of pitch, forcing the search for another venue for the home fixture.
Sudan, AFCON 2027 and CAS
Senegal host Sudan on 12 November, then meet the Sudanese on Sudanese soil four days later. Both matches count towards the CAF 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers: the top two in each group qualify for next summer’s AFCON in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, if CAF confirms the hosting.
Meanwhile, a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision on the 2025 AFCON title is awaited. The CAF appeals jury awarded the title to Morocco by default, according to Football.fr. The report does not specify the date of that decision.