Senegal-Peru in Paris at 4:00 p.m. GMT: the Lions ready to party

The duel against Peru, this Saturday March 28, 2026, in Paris at 4 p.m. GMT, will allow the Lions to celebrate the CAN won in Rabat against Morocco. But, it will also serve as a barometer for Pape Thiaw and his players, a few months before the 2026 World Cup. There are places to be won, especially for newcomers like Nobel Mendy, Mamadou Diakhon and those who are making their comeback like Assane Diao and Bamba Dieng.

Two months after the CAN coronation, the Lions return to the arena. This Saturday, at 4 p.m., Senegal faces Peru in Paris. A show will also be expected on the pitch with the Lions who still have the rage to win. The match against Peru, in addition to that against Gambia, on March 31 in Dakar, is a great opportunity for several players to earn points on the road to the World Cup.

Ousseynou Niang, Mamadou Lamine Camara, Cheikh Tidiane Sabaly, present in Morocco, will not be there, due to the coach’s choices. Sadio Mané, best player of the last mass of African football, will be absent due to injury. Players like Bamba Dieng and Assane Diao, back in the team, will have a big role to play in an attack where the competition is fierce.

Mamadou Diakhon, for his part, will have to take advantage of Mané’s absence to show that he has enough talent to replace the top scorer in Senegal’s history. Selected for the first time by Pape Thiaw, he rejected the call from the French junior team to join the Lair. A determination that will have to materialize on the pitch.

Nobel Mendy, who strengthens a defense already well equipped with Kalidou Koulibaly, Moussa Niakhaté, Mamadou Sarr…, has an interest in taking advantage of the slightest playing time to shine. As for veterans like Édouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ismaïla Sarr, we expect to see the leadership shown during the victory over England in Nottingham (3-1), in the absence of Sadio Mané.

Also read: CAN 2025 litigation: the FSF offers itself the “CAS champion” to overturn the decision

This match between Senegal and a Peru team rebuilding after the failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, should allow Pape Thiaw to gauge the level of his team. At the end of the duel with the team coached by the Brazilian Mano Menezes, the Senegalese technician will be able to detect areas on which he will have to work before the World Cup (June 11 – July 19, 2026).

Pape Thiaw should field a team very close to his typical eleven against Peru before making changes against Gambia on Tuesday March 31 in Dakar, at the Stade Abdoulaye Wade. It will be more than a friendly match for the Senegal national team as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

This opposition also takes place in a particular context with the incomprehensible decision of the Caf Appeal Jury to withdraw the champion title from Senegal and award it to Morocco. The match will be played in a Stade de France which promises to be as full as an egg. In fact, 50,000 supporters were expected by the organizers.

But, due to the strong passion created by the decision of the Caf Appeal Jury, requests exploded and the organizers had to put 10,000 more tickets on the market. And 48 hours before the meeting, all the tickets had already been sold out. To put on a breathtaking show, the Senegalese Football Federation pulled out all the stops by proposing the international star Youssou Ndour and the French rapper of Senegalese origin, Booba. This will be an opportunity to present the trophy to the Senegalese community present in France, but also in the rest of Europe.

Julien Mbesse SÈNE