Patrick Vieira appointed Senegal head coach
Patrick Vieira has been appointed head coach of the Senegal men's national team, Senegal's football federation (FSF) announced on 18 August 2026. He succeeds Pape Thiaw, who was sacked after Senegal's last-32 exit at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
Born in Dakar and raised in France from the age of eight, Vieira won more than 100 caps for Les Bleus and was part of the France squads that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. During his club playing career he won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with Arsenal, and also collected honours with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester City.
The FSF said the appointment reflects its "desire to strengthen its high-level technical staff" and is "perfectly aligned" with the nation's sporting ambitions. Details of Vieira's contract and his starting date in the role are still being discussed.
Vieira returns to international football after leaving his most recent post at Genoa by mutual consent last November, with the Italian club bottom of Serie A at the time. He had previously won eight and drawn nine of his 26 games during the 2024-25 season to guide Genoa to safety and a 13th-place finish, but managed just two wins in 25-26, both of which came in the Coppa Italia.
After retiring in 2011 Vieira began his managerial career with New York City in 2016 before moving back to Europe to take charge of Nice, leading them to seventh in Ligue 1 in his first season. He was sacked in December 2020, became Crystal Palace manager the following year and guided the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2021-22.
Vieira was dismissed by Palace in March 2023 following a 12-game winless run and subsequently joined RC Strasbourg as their first appointment following a takeover by BlueCo, the company which owns Chelsea; he left Strasbourg by mutual consent in July 2024.
Thiaw's departure followed controversy in January when he led Senegal off the field after Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty in the 2025 Afcon final; the players returned after a delay of about 17 minutes before Brahim Diaz's penalty was saved and Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner. Morocco were later declared the winners in March when a Confederation of African Football appeals board overturned the result of the final following Senegal's walk-off, and Senegal have lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the case due to be heard on 8 October.
Vieira's first matches in charge of the Teranga Lions are expected to come next month in qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
