Pape Thiaw defends choice of friendly against Peru

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has come out to defend the decision to face Peru during the on-going FIFA International break.

The Lions of Teranga will face Peru at the neutral Stade de France on Saturday for a friendly affair in preparation for the 2026 World Cup in June.

Teranga Lions of Senegal players arrive in Paris ahead of their friendly match against Peru and celebration of their AFCON 2025 trophy 🏆🇸🇳#Senegal #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 #AFCON2025

pic.twitter.com/65pmPs9HOC

— Pan-Africa Football (@PanAfricaFooty) March 23, 2026

The friendly comes after the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strip Senegal of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and give it to Morocco, who Senegal had defeated 1-0 in the final played in Rabat.

Friendly matches isn’t the opponent

“We’re following the rumors a bit. We see that our fans and you journalists would like to see Senegal-Brazil matches… We understand,” said Thiaw as quoted by WiwSport.

“But the most important thing in friendly matches isn’t the opponent. We know that Peru is a good team, that has shown some good things, even if they haven’t qualified for the World Cup.”

Thiaw added: “They are preparing well, with a new Brazilian coach (Mano Menezes). We expect to play against a team and a coach we don’t know. We’ve already studied Peru, but that will change because there’s a new coach.

“That’s the beauty of friendly matches. There will be problems we’ll try to solve on the pitch. As a coach, it’s a step forward, and for the players, we’ll have to try to resolve some issues. It’s good for the team.”

‘He’s putting in some extraordinary performances’

Thiaw also discussed the absence of Malang Sarr from the squad. He said: “As I often say, the national team is all about timing. We’re closely monitoring Malang Sarr.

“He’s putting in some extraordinary performances, and we hope he can keep this momentum going. He’s not part of this squad, but you never know. As a coach, I’m open to any Senegalese footballer capable of representing the national team.

“The most important thing is having Senegalese heritage. After that, choosing means eliminating players. What would you have answered if I asked you who to eliminate in order to call him up?”