Patrick Vieira has begun work with his Senegal squad as the Lions of Teranga prepare to open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Mozambique.
Senegal arrived in Maputo on Monday and held their first training session under Vieira since he was appointed manager following the 2026 World Cup.
The former France international used the opening session to assess his players and begin preparations for the first competitive assignment of his tenure.
However, Vieira’s first day in charge was affected by the staggered arrival of members of the squad, with players reporting to camp at different times because of their club commitments.
Some of the Senegal players had featured for their clubs on Saturday, while others played on Sunday. Their subsequent travel schedules meant that the squad could not assemble at the training base at the same time.
Vieira said the immediate focus was therefore on making sure the players recovered properly before increasing the intensity of their work on the pitch.
“The difficulty was getting all the players together. Because some played on Saturday, others on Sunday. That means some traveled on Sunday, others on Monday. They are arriving in small groups. But with the first group, the priority is recovery.
“That’s why recovery work was done at the hotel. The group will be complete on Tuesday evening. For now, the priority will be recovery and we will start working on the field from Tuesday ,” he told the FSF microphone.
The Senegal squad is expected to be complete by Tuesday evening, allowing Vieira to begin more detailed preparations on the training pitch.
The Mozambique match will be Vieira’s first competitive assignment since taking over the Senegal job.
He replaced Pape Thiaw after the 2026 World Cup and has now been tasked with guiding the Lions through the qualifying campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
The start of the qualifiers marks a new chapter for Senegal under the former Arsenal, Manchester City and France midfielder.
