Vieira’s Senegal undefeated, but not yet convincing (By Oumar Boubacar NDONGO)
A goal from Iliman Ndiaye, a match without conceding, and an international break which ends with a smile. This Sunday, October 4, 2026, Senegal beat the Comoros (1-0) in a friendly match, at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille. This is Patrick Viera’s third outing at the head of the Lions, after a 1-1 draw in Mozambique and a 1-0 victory in Ethiopia during the first two days of qualifying for Can 2027. Three games, no defeat: on paper, the results are flattering. On the pitch, there are nuances, even gray areas. Because these Lions have not yet convinced. The game lacked fluidity, the highlights were too rare, and in front of goal, efficiency was not always there. The team has also won its last two matches by the narrowest of margins. Ndiaye’s goal against the Comoros is an illustration of this: a flash of talent in a magnificent collective combination between Pape Matar Sarr, Ibrahim Mbaye and Iliman Ndiaye. Senegal does not lack offensive quality, far from it. He lacks regularity in creation, and the composure to kill matches earlier, so as not to tremble until the final whistle.
However, it is behind that the concern is most visible. Defensive mistakes are repeated, and they are not just the concern of the defenders. In front of them, the midfield lacks compactness, the lines become stretched, and the rearguard finds itself too often exposed. The defense is poorly protected, and the slightest opposing transition can quickly turn into an alert. Today’s clean sheet is good news, but it should not hide the root of the problem: the balance between the lines has not yet been found.
In short, there is a lack of a player capable of playing this pivotal role: a protector, a recuperator, someone who breaks up opposing attacks then projects forward with elegance. No one knows the profile better than Vieira himself. It was exactly his, from his playing days. Nice paradox: the coach is today looking for his double to balance his team.
But let’s be fair, he ran out of time. Officialized on September 21, 2026, Vieira was presented four days later, when his list was published. Suffice to say that he jumped on the bandwagon, with few sessions to establish his principles. A gaming identity cannot be decreed during an international break. It is built through repetition, benchmarks and trust between a group and its coach. And it would be unfair to judge too harshly a technician who is still discovering his players, their automatisms and their complementarities.
The work is therefore open, but the foundations are not bad: four points out of six in qualifying, and a success to close the bracket. Vieira knows the job and knows what he is looking for. All that remains is to give him time to find it, and to find the environment that will allow the Lions to regain their balance. Can 2027 is still far away, but the next meetings will tell if Vieira’s Senegal is starting to resemble its coach: solid, demanding, and playful.
In November, Senegal will be on deck again with two new qualifying days for Can 2027. And with the potential returns of Sadio Mané and Krépin Diatta, players who will have found their cruising speed (Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Gueye), and a coach who will know his group better, the Senegal version of Patrick Vieira will undoubtedly have more consistency than today, and better mutual knowledge between the players and the new technician, we can perhaps expect more. And there, we will be able to judge better…
By Oumar Boubacar NDONGO
