Assane Diao: Patrick Vieira to finally get the ball rolling?
Assane Diao is a true diamond of Senegalese football. Phenomenal in Como at the start of the season (2 goals and 1 assist in four days of Serie A, 1 goal scored upon entering the Champions League), the 21-year-old winger has never been able to be fully used in the national team, between starved playing time and repeated injuries. With the arrival of Patrick Vieira on the Lions bench, the September international break could finally be a see-saw.
In Como, Assane Diao gradually settles into another dimension. Under the orders of Cesc Fàbregas, he asserts himself as one of the rising offensive values of the Lombard club, confirmed by his goal scored on the first day of the new Champions League campaign. The message is clear: promises are no longer enough, you have to respond when the light is shined on you, and so far, the Senegalese is responding rather well.
This start to the financial year contrasts with a complicated 2025-2026 season. Hampered by repeated muscular problems, the former Betis player had only played five official matches between April and December 2025. His participation in CAN 2025 in Morocco had even ended short: coming out with a thigh injury during the final match before the departure against AS Roma, he had to withdraw, replaced in Pape Thiaw’s group by Ousseynou Niang. He finished the season with 2 goals and 1 assist in 20 games.
A new coach, a new deal
The change of cycle in selection is timely. Patrick Vieira, who succeeds Pape Thiaw, will be officially inducted this Friday, September 18 at the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor stadium in Dakar, where he will immediately unveil his first list. The former Arsenal captain said he wanted to quickly get to work with his group to prepare for upcoming events.
Three meetings immediately await the Lions: a trip to Mozambique on September 25 in Maputo, then a match in Ethiopia on September 29 in Bahir Dar, both counting for the CAN 2027 qualifiers, before a friendly against the Comoros at the beginning of October. A busy start which will force Vieira to quickly decide on his offensive choices.
The most favorable context possible
This is precisely where the window opens wide for Assane Diao. The coach will have to cope without two executives of the Senegalese attack: Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr are both serving a suspension imposed by CAF for unsporting behavior towards the referee during the CAN 2025 final against Morocco, a sanction which deprives them of the first two days against Mozambique and Ethiopia.
This double absence, combined with the arrival of a new staff who has no preconceptions about the hierarchy inherited from the Thiaw era, offers Diao a rare opportunity to establish himself permanently in the eleven rather than grabbing minutes at the end of the match. The new coach must deal with an attack where competition remains fierce, but where the current form will necessarily weigh in his decisions.
Protect or throw: the Vieira dilemma
There remains one question for the French technician: should we take care of a young player still in the physical construction phase, given his injury history, or on the contrary capitalize without delay on his current dynamic? In any case, Assane Diao arrives with an argument that is difficult to ignore, that of a player who started his season flat-footed.
For a striker whose potential has never been contested but whose integration into the selection has always come up against physical problems and tough competition, the alignment of the planets is unprecedented. It’s up to Patrick Vieira to decide whether he makes it the centerpiece of his project from his first gathering.
Oumar Boubacar NDONGO
