Senegal sacked coach Pape Thiaw on Saturday, indicating that its results in the World Cup required a change in the team's leadership, while Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira emerged as the top candidate to take over.

Senegal had hoped to be a strong contender in the World Cup after defeating Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final in January, but it delivered a disappointing performance in the tournament.

Senegal lost its first two group-stage matches to France and Norway, and squandered a 2-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the match against Belgium in the round of 32, before losing 3-2 in extra time.

Thiaw (45) was scheduled to begin serving a five-match suspension in September with the start of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, after he instructed his players to leave the pitch in protest of the penalty awarded to Morocco in the final match held in Rabat.

The French daily L'Equipe reported that Frenchman Vieira, a World Cup winner, is among the frontrunners for the position.

Vieira has previously coached New York City FC in the US, Nice and Strasbourg in France, as well as Crystal Palace in England and Genoa in Italy.

Patrick Vieira

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