2027 AFCON: Patrick Vieira details the Lions' arrival in Mozambique

In Maputo, the Lions of Senegal began their preparation for their next AFCON 2027 qualifying match. Arriving in Mozambique with his staff, Patrick Vieira explained the conditions of the trip and the first measures taken to allow his players to recover before returning to the field.

The trip to Mozambique went smoothly for Patrick Vieira and his staff. "The journey went very well. It was a long journey, but we arrived safely at our destination," explained the new Senegal coach.

The main difficulty, however, was getting the whole group together. Due to their respective club schedules, the Senegalese internationals did not all travel at the same time. Some played their match on Saturday, while others were still involved in games on Sunday.

“There are players who played on Saturday, others who played on Sunday. That means there is one group that travelled on Sunday, the other group that travelled on Monday. So they arrive in small groups,” Patrick Vieira explained to the microphone of the Senegalese football federation.

Faced with this situation, the coaching staff immediately focused on recovery. For the first players to arrive in Maputo, a specific program was implemented directly at the hotel to limit the effects of fatigue related to the matches and the long journey.

"The priority was definitely recovery. That's why recovery work was done at the hotel," the French coach said.

The first real training session on the pitch is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The squad should then be almost at full strength, with the gradual arrival of the last players. Vieira intends to use this session to begin concrete preparations for the match against Mozambique.

For the new Lions coach, managing physical freshness is a key element in the lead-up to this match. "The priority is really recovery because it's been a long journey for most of the players," he emphasized.

Patrick Vieira therefore wants to avoid rushing things. With the squad arriving gradually in Maputo after a busy weekend with their clubs, the objective is to allow the players to regain sufficient freshness before fully engaging in tactical preparation.

"What's really important is to have the big day in mind and the priority is to be fresh, but really start working from Tuesday afternoon on the field," the coach concluded.