“There’s bound to be some disappointment”: Patrick Vieira reacts to Senegal’s draw in Maputo

The Lions of Teranga were held to a draw by Mozambique (1–1) on Friday 25 September at the Zimpeto National Stadium, in their opening match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Following this opening fixture, Patrick Vieira spoke about his team’s performance. The Senegal manager acknowledged that not everything went perfectly for his players, whilst believing that this match allows him to lay the initial foundations for his project.

“We knew that not everything was going to be perfect for this match. We’ve identified certain weaknesses and we’ll try to correct them through hard work. But it was important to lay these foundations.

In terms of the players’ attitude and commitment, there is inevitably some disappointment because we wanted to win. I think that, right from the start of the match, we showed that we wanted to win this game.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on our side. Perhaps, in the next match, we’ll be better at capitalising on those chances.”

On matchday 2 of the qualifiers, Senegal will travel to Ethiopia to face the Walia on 29 September.