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Patrick Vieira has been named the new head coach of Senegal, taking charge of the national team after leaving Genoa in November last year.

The Senegal-born former Arsenal captain had been without a job since he was dismissed by the Serie A side.

The 50-year-old replaces Pape Thiaw, who was sacked after Senegal were beaten by Belgium in the round of 32 at the recent World Cup.

As a player, Vieira won three Premier League titles with Arsenal and also lifted the World Cup and the European Championship with France, in 1998 and 2000 respectively.

A statement released on the Senegal national team’s X account said: "Mr Patrick Vieira is the new coach of the Senegalese national A team.

"The date of the official presentation and the next steps in his installation will be communicated at a later date. Welcome to Senegal, coach."

Vieira, who earned 107 caps for France, had earlier managerial stints with Nice and New York City before spending two years as Crystal Palace manager.

He left Palace in March 2023 and later that year took over as Strasbourg head coach, before going on to spend 12 months with Genoa.

Vieira succeeds Thiaw after a turbulent spell for the Senegal national side. Senegal were declared Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) champions in January after a dramatic 1-0 win over hosts Morocco following extra time.

However, the match was overshadowed by controversy after Senegal staged a walk-off protest in added time when Morocco were awarded a penalty with the score locked at 0-0.

After a delay of around 20 minutes, the Senegal players came back onto the pitch and Brahim Diaz saw his penalty saved, sending the game into extra time.

Senegal eventually won 1-0, but the result was later overturned by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) appeals board after Senegal’s protest, with Morocco awarded a 3-0 forfeit win and the title.

The matter is now due to go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the hearing scheduled for 8 October.

After the Afcon controversy, Senegal then endured a poor World Cup campaign, losing three of their four matches against France, Norway and Belgium.