Senegal continue their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign against Ethiopia on Tuesday, with Patrick Vieira’s side looking to improve after a below-par opening performance. The match will be played at the Bahir Dar Stadium in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, with kick-off at 15:00 French time and 13:00 in Senegal.
The game will be shown live in full on beIN Sports 3 in France and RTS 1 in Senegal.
This will be Vieira’s second match in charge of Senegal. His first ended in a 1-1 draw with Mozambique on 25 September, despite the Mambas being significantly lower in the world rankings. Mozambique are 100th in the FIFA rankings, 81 places behind Senegal, who are 19th.
Nicolas Jackson gave the reigning African champions the lead in the 32nd minute after a positive start. However, Mozambique equalised against the run of play in first-half stoppage time, with the goal arriving in the 45th minute plus two.
The result was not the only source of frustration for Senegal. Their performance changed significantly after the interval, having been lively during the opening half before losing both tempo and intensity in the second.
They will need greater consistency against Ethiopia, while their finishing must also improve. Pape Matar Sarr, for example, missed a clear opportunity to make it 2-0 in the 39th minute of the previous match.
Vieira could make changes to his starting XI. Ibrahim Mbaye is in contention to begin after coming on for the final 30 minutes in Maputo, while Kalidou Koulibaly’s involvement remains uncertain after he was left on the bench in the opening fixture.
Abdallah Sima, who impressed on his international debut and supplied an assist, is expected to start again. The forward would therefore make his second consecutive appearance from the beginning in his first two caps.
Senegal and Ethiopia have met only once previously. That encounter came in November 1965 at the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, when Senegal won 5-1 in the group stage in Tunis.
The Ethiopians, known as the Walyas, will now host a Senegal team aiming to put together a more complete performance and make a stronger start to the Vieira era.