Patrick Vieira appointed Senegal head coach with AFCON qualifiers looming

Former France, Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira replaces Pape Thiaw as Senegal coach.Published On 18 Aug 202618 Aug 2026Former Arsenal and Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira has been named as the new national team football coach of Senegal, replacing Pape Thiaw.Vieira was born in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, but represented France on the international stage and in 1998 was part of the first French side to lift a World Cup.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4FIFA COO Lamour exits after criticism of Infantino’s World Cup planlist 2 of 4Arsenal preview: Five key questions heading into new Premier League seasonlist 3 of 4Premier League is back: All to know as the 2026-27 season kicks offlist 4 of 4Rights group urges FIFA to block Infantino re-election bid over term limitsend of listThe 50-year-old takes over from Thiaw, who led Senegal to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title, which was subsequently stripped from them and handed to Morocco following a mid-game walk-off by Senegalese players and staff.Thiaw was heavily criticised for his side’s Round of 32 exit at the FIFA World Cup 2026, which was confirmed by a 3-2 defeat by Belgium, and was subseque...