The Arsenal legend will return to the dugout with Senegal after replacing Pape Thiaw, who was sent packing in the aftermath of the country’s exit at the last-32 stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Senegal have been drawn in Group J of the qualifiers alongside the Mambas, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
‘It will be a difficult match’
“Being a favourite is a word that people on the outside use, but personally, it’s not something I appreciate or like to use,” said the former France midfielder told FSF TV as quoted by Wiw Sport.
“I think every match has its difficulties, and this will be a difficult match for us. It will be the first qualifying match; we expect a tough team to play against, and we have to demonstrate our quality with a lot of humility, a lot of seriousness, and a lot of focus to overcome this team.
“We have talent, we have determination, and a lot of humility, and it will be important to start this match with intensity.
Then, if we manage to play at the level we know we can, we’ll have a good chance of getting a good result. But we have to show it on the pitch.”
Senegal star Bara Sapoko Ndiaye said of the game and their readiness: “Honestly, everything is going well with the new players and all.
“They arrived, and we're getting along really well. The veterans gave them a warm welcome, and here they are. They all speak French, and honestly, when someone arrives, you don't even realize there are new players.
“We're all here, we're well integrated, we communicate well. And we're preparing well for Friday's match too; everything is going well. We had good discussions with the coach before training sessions and everything, since there's a good, precise plan and all that.
“Yesterday, we had a session to get back into shape, today was good, a bit more technical and tactical as well. We're preparing well for Friday's match.
Honestly, everything is going well with him. I like it; everyone is having fun at training, and we're very focused.”
Lamine Camara explained what they anticipate in the opener of the qualifiers, who’s final will be staged in East Africa by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The 2027 edition of the tournament will be the first to be hosted by three countries, and the first in five decades to be organised in the CECAFA region, since it was hosted by Ethiopia in 1976.
The event will mark the Africa Cup of Nations’ 70th anniversary and will be the last held in odd-numbered years, as CAF announced in December 2025 that AFCON would become a Quadrennial tournament from 2028 onwards.
‘Of course, we're ready’
“We're preparing well for the match and hope to be in good shape on match day. Of course, we're ready.
When we left our club, we knew we had to be ready immediately because we didn't have time to prepare for the match. We're aware of that, and the coach made that clear to us.
“All the players know we have to be ready to prepare well for this match because we're not going to play an easy team. They're at home; it's going to be difficult, and it's up to us to be at 100% to prepare well for this match.
“Patrick Vieira was a great player, a legend, you could say. As a midfielder, he's in the best position to know what we're capable of, what I'm capable of too.
“And that's it, I think he's the best person, he's in the best position to know what I can bring to this team. I'm aware of that too. I came here 100% focused on contributing more to this team and I hope to be 100% fit on match day.”
The fixture in Maputo will be followed by another match for Senegal mtch against Ethiopia on September 29th in Bahir Dar, as part of their 2027 AFCON qualifiers.
The West Africans will conclude the upcoming international window with a friendly match against Comoros on October 4th at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
