Comoros and Senegal set for first meeting at Marseille’s Velodrome

The Comoros and Senegal will meet for the first time in their history when they face each other in an international friendly at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday afternoon.

Both sides arrive in Marseille after recent victories and will be looking to build momentum in a fixture that gives Patrick Vieira and Hubert Velud further opportunities to assess their squads.

Senegal’s appointment of Vieira followed a dramatic collapse against Belgium. The Lions had appeared close to reaching the last 16 of the World Cup before losing 3-2, a result which brought an end to Pape Thiaw’s tenure despite his Africa Cup of Nations triumph earlier this year.

Vieira, who had been without a club since leaving Genoa in November 2025, began his Senegal reign with a 1-1 draw against Mozambique. His first victory came last Tuesday, when Senegal beat Ethiopia 1-0.

The 50-year-old has taken four points from his opening two competitive matches, although his start has been regarded as mixed by some observers. Senegal are ranked 90 places above the Comoros in the FIFA rankings, but Vieira is expected to treat the friendly seriously as he seeks greater attacking efficiency.

The Lions of Teranga won their first two warm-up matches in 2026, but have since gone two friendlies without a victory. They drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia immediately before the World Cup, and their supporters will want an improvement after two unconvincing attacking displays.

Comoros seeking another surprise

Velud, who has previously managed Togo, Sudan and Burkina Faso, began his three-year tenure after Stefano Cusin’s departure. His first assignment was a difficult trip to Cameroon, where the Comoros were beaten 3-1, but the result did not affect their confidence.

The Cœlacanthes then gave Velud a winning home debut, defeating Namibia 1-0 through a decisive goal from Benjaloud Youssouf. It was their first competitive victory for 10 months, following a penalty shoot-out success over Yemen in the Arab Cup in November 2025.

That result ended a poor run of only two wins in 11 matches. The Comoros have produced notable upsets before, including a victory in Tunisia during qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations 2024 despite having a 6.7% win probability at kick-off.

After failing to score in five straight matches, they have found the net in each of their past three games, scoring once on every occasion. They will need increased attacking output to trouble Senegal.

Comoros’ recent friendly form is D-D-D-V-V-V, while their overall record is N-D-D-V-D-V. Senegal’s friendly form is D-V-V-V-D-N and their record in all competitions is D-D-V-D-N-V.

Youssouf, 32, has been involved in both Comoros goals during this international window and is expected to start at right-back. Yannick Pandor should retain his place in goal after a strong performance against Namibia.

Yehvann Diouf has become Senegal’s first choice since Edouard Mendy’s international retirement, although Mory Diaw could start. Aston Villa winger Ibrahim Mbaye scored his fifth goal in 17 caps against Ethiopia, while record appearance-holder Idrissa Gana Gueye is pushing to start after earning his 138th cap as a substitute last week.

Probable Comoros XI: Pandor – Youssouf, Omari, Kari, Abdallah – Bourhane, Mohamed – Ahmed, Youssef, Hadji – Aboubacar.

Probable Senegal XI: Diaw – Diouf, Koulibaly, Sane, Sy – I. Gueye, P. Gueye – Sima, Sarr, Mbaye – Jackson.

Senegal’s greater individual quality makes them favourites, with a 0-3 victory the predicted outcome after 90 minutes at the Velodrome.