Patrick Vieira among 21 new coaches starting 2027 Afcon qualifying

Patrick Vieira will lead Senegal into the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign as one of 21 new coaches taking charge of national teams when the group stage begins on Thursday.

The former France World Cup winner replaces Pape Bouna Thiaw after Senegal’s disappointing showing at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Senegal had been expected to provide Africa’s strongest challenge at the tournament, but their underwhelming performance resulted in Thiaw losing his job.

Vieira was born in Dakar but left Senegal for France with his mother as a child. He later helped France win the 1998 World Cup.

“ I have lots of flashes, such as the place where I used to play football with a tennis ball,” Vieira said after returning to Senegal as an adult.

There will be no home debut for the new coach during this international window. Senegal begin with away matches against Mozambique and Ethiopia before facing Comoros in a friendly in Marseille.

A total of 48 countries will start the group phase of qualifying this week, with six of the 10 African nations who competed at the World Cup also appointing new coaches.

Among them is Pitso Mosimane, who has begun a second spell in charge of South Africa. The former SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly (Cairo) coach sees Bafana Bafana face Guinea at Orlando Stadium on Saturday at 3pm, before an away fixture against Eritrea in neutral Cairo on Wednesday.

Former Afcon winners take new jobs

Two coaches who have already won the Africa Cup of Nations are also beginning new assignments.

Aliou Cisse, who guided Senegal to the title in 2021, is now in charge of Angola. His side start against Egypt in Cairo on Friday.

Herve Renard, winner with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015, has returned to coach Ivory Coast. His first qualifying match will be a difficult home fixture against neighbours Ghana.

Renard was brought in to coach Tunisia on an emergency basis at the World Cup after Sabri Lamouchi was dismissed following a heavy defeat in their opening game. Tunisia have since appointed Moin Chaabani, a former international defender, as they attempt to improve their fortunes.

Sebastien Migne is the new coach of Gabon, who begin their campaign away to Morocco on Friday. The Frenchman has previous experience of facing Morocco, having coached Haiti when they twice held the lead against them in a World Cup group match in Atlanta before losing 4-2.

Le Roy returns with Congo

Claude Le Roy, aged 78, is also back in international management with Congo. They travel to Namibia on Thursday.

Le Roy last coached Togo five years ago. His appointment is his 12th as a national-team coach and marks a second spell with Congo, whom he managed from 2013 to 2015.

He holds the records for the most tournament appearances, with nine, and the most matches coached, with 38, at the Africa Cup of Nations finals.