Vieira and 5 other top coaches set to make debuts in AFCON 2027 qualifiers

The road to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations begins this week, with 48 nations entering the group phase and 21 new head coaches taking charge. Among them are former World Cup winners, AFCON champions and managers returning to national-team football in new countries.

From Patrick Vieira taking charge of Senegal to Claude Le Roy beginning his second spell with Congo, these six coaches will start their new assignments with immediate qualifying tests.

Patrick Vieira begins his first international management job with Senegal, the country of his birth, after Pape Bouna Thiaw was dismissed following the Teranga Lions’ underwhelming World Cup campaign.

The 1998 World Cup winner left Dakar as a child before building a distinguished playing career in Europe. He later moved into coaching, managing Crystal Palace, Nice and Genoa.

Now 50, Vieira faces his first competitive test in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers with Senegal travelling to Mozambique and Ethiopia. The assignment gives him the chance to transfer his club-management experience to international football, where preparation time is limited and results carry immediate consequences.

Senegal will begin the campaign away from home, giving Vieira two early opportunities to establish his preferred approach and assess the players available to him.

Aliou Cissé starts a new chapter with Angola after almost a decade managing Senegal. He led the Teranga Lions to their historic AFCON triumph in 2021 before leaving the position and later taking a short-term role with Libya.

Cissé now inherits the Palancas Negras and will begin with a difficult trip to Cairo to face Egypt.

During his Senegal tenure, Cissé became associated with a defensively organised 5-4-1 system. Angola will now provide a different challenge as he attempts to shape a squad capable of competing in a new qualifying group.

His knowledge of African international football should help with the transition, but his first assignment leaves little room for an easy introduction. The Egypt fixture will provide an immediate indication of how Cissé intends to use his new squad and whether his familiar tactical structure will remain central to his approach.

Hervé Renard returns to the Ivory Coast almost 11 years after guiding the Elephants to AFCON glory in 2015.

The Frenchman remains the only coach to have won the tournament with two different nations, having previously led Zambia to the title in 2012. His latest appointment comes after a brief emergency spell with Tunisia during the World Cup, replacing Sabri Lamouchi in Ivory Coast.

Renard’s second spell begins with a major West African derby against Ghana. The fixture will give him an early opportunity to assess his squad and begin implementing his ideas before the qualifiers develop further.

Ivory Coast already possess a squad familiar with high-level international football, but Renard will need to establish his preferred balance and approach quickly with competitive matches immediately on the schedule.

His return also brings the unusual situation of a coach taking charge of a country he has previously led to continental success.

Moïn Chaabani takes over Tunisia after a difficult period for the Carthage Eagles. The former Tunisia international defender replaces a coaching setup that changed following the team’s disappointing World Cup campaign.

Chaabani arrives from club football, where his biggest achievement came with Espérance de Tunis. He led the club to consecutive CAF Champions League titles, making him a familiar figure within Tunisian football.

His new task is considerably different: building a national team with limited preparation time between international windows. Chaabani will have to assess the existing squad while introducing younger players and maintaining continuity with the experienced members of the team.

The AFCON 2027 qualifiers therefore represent his first opportunity to establish a new direction for Tunisia. With expectations high around the national team, the opening fixtures will provide an early test of how quickly Chaabani can transfer his club methods to the international stage.

Sébastien Migné takes charge of Gabon for another national-team assignment in Africa after previous spells with Kenya, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo.

The French coach is known for pragmatic football and will now attempt to organise a Gabon side looking to navigate a competitive qualification campaign.

His first major test comes away against Morocco. Migné has recent experience of facing the Atlas Lions, having managed Haiti against them during the World Cup. Morocco won that match 4-2 in Atlanta.

That familiarity could give Migné useful insight into the opposition, although preparing a new team to face Morocco presents a different challenge. Gabon will rely on the new coach to quickly establish his preferred structure and make the most of the players available to him as the qualifiers get under way.

At 78, Claude Le Roy returns to international management with Congo, taking charge of the Red Devils for a second time. The Frenchman previously managed Congo between 2013 and 2015 and has since worked with several other African national teams, most recently Togo five years ago.

Le Roy holds the record for the most AFCON finals appearances by a coach, with nine, as well as the most matches managed at the tournament, with 38.

His latest appointment is his 12th national-team job. The return to Congo begins with an away fixture against Namibia, giving Le Roy an immediate competitive test. His familiarity with African international football will now be applied to a Congo team attempting to qualify for the 2027 AFCON.

At an age when many of his contemporaries have long left the dugout, Le Roy has chosen to return for another international campaign, adding another chapter to an already lengthy coaching career.