Since no appeal has been filed by the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), Pape Thiaw will serve his suspension from September to November 2026. This period is crucial as it coincides with the group stage of the CAN 2027 qualifiers. The sanction, which involves five matches, will impact most of this qualifying campaign. The Senegal national team coach will only return to the bench in November 2026, during the final day of the qualifiers.
The qualifiers for CAN 2027 will kick off in March with a preliminary round featuring twelve teams. The six qualifying teams will then join the 42 nations already directly admitted to form the group stage. Pape Thiaw will be absent during this phase, particularly for the first four matchdays scheduled between September 21 and October 6, 2026, and possibly for the fifth matchday, before his expected return for the matches set between November 9 and 17, 2026.
Group stage matchday schedule:
- Matchdays 1 to 4: September 21 – October 6, 2026
- Matchdays 5 and 6: November 9 – 17, 2026
The sanction doesn’t just affect the coach. Two key offensive players for the Lions, Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye, have also been suspended for two matches each and will miss the first two matchdays of the qualifiers. This absence could weigh heavily on Senegal’s offensive plans, as they will start their campaign without their coach and two of their main attacking weapons.
This tricky situation forces the technical staff and the FSF to anticipate major strategic choices, in a context where every point counts to ensure a smooth qualification for the next Africa Cup of Nations.
