England succumbed to their first defeat to African opposition as they were beaten 3-1 by Senegal in an international friendly at the City Ground.
Thomas Tuchel had been looking for a response following England’s uninspired 1-0 win over Andorra on Saturday but they were deservedly beaten in Nottingham as Senegal recovered from Harry Kane’s early goal against the run of play to turn the game around.
Ismaila Sarr capitalised on Kyle Walker’s sluggishness to level just before half-time and Habib Diarra ran away from Morgan Gibbs-White to find himself wide open in the right channel to put the ball between Dean Henderson’s legs soon after the hour mark.
England did have chances to equalise, with Edouard Mendy making fine stops to keep out Gibbs-White and Bukayo Saka, before substitute Jude Bellingham had a goal disallowed for a handball by Levi Colwill – a debatable decision late in the game.
Any doubt over the result was ended when Noni Madueke’s poor free-kick in stoppage time allowed Senegal to break and they countered expertly, Youssouf Sabaly finishing calmly beyond Henderson to secure this historic win. England departed to boos.
Another tough night for Tuchel
“We need to improve, for sure. We have not clicked yet.” Those were Tuchel’s words in the build-up. Well, there was little sign of anything clicking against Senegal. Henderson, the goalkeeper, actually impressed given the number of saves he was forced into.
England have endured disappointing results in these June fixtures before – it is not so long ago they lost 4-0 at home to Hungary in the Midlands – but Tuchel can take little comfort in that given he is trying to build towards next summer’s World Cup.
Tuchel: It felt again a bit frozen
England manager Thomas Tuchel speaking to ITV:
“Disappointing result. Not sure if we did not maybe deserve a little bit more result-wise, but it felt again a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match.
“Defended quite well for a long period in the first half. Then our best period came when we were 2-1 down. I think we conceded the first two goals. Very easy goals that need to defend better. The reaction was good after we were down.
“I felt us suddenly kind of more active, more free, more fluid, more aggressive towards the opponent’s goals. We had big chances to equalise. We equalised [but it was disallowed] and got the last one [go in against us in stoppage-time].”
Should Toney have come on earlier?
Thomas Tuchel suffered his first defeat as England boss
Asked by ITV why Ivan Toney, ostensibly the back-up striker to Kane, was not introduced until the 88th minute, Tuchel replied: “First of all, it was more than three minutes. Second of all, I think that Ivan is a specialist for exactly these situations.
“We created a lot of chances with Morgan Gibbs-White, with Ebbs [Eze], Morgan Rogers and Jude [Bellingham] in fluid positions. Ivan is the strongest if we have a phase where we have a lot of balls in the box. That is the case.
“After 80 minutes we made him ready, then we scored, I think. They took the goal away, so it took a while longer than we wanted, but that’s basically what he can give – a presence in the box and then the goal later in the match.”
Kane: We have to improve quickly
England captain Harry Kane speaking to ITV:
“Again, not really good enough. We had moments, but with and without the ball we’re not quite finding the right passes and tempo. One-vs-one we’re losing duels, we’re losing that aggressive nature we’ve had.
“We’re not going to panic but we know we have to be better. There’s some ideas which are new, some new players coming in who don’t have experience internationally.
“There’s no excuses, we have to find it quick. We’re not meeting for a couple of months, the World Cup comes around really fast – so every camp is really important.”
Harry Kane wheels away after scoring the opener for England against Senegal
Walker under scrutiny after error
Will Walker be a part of that? His inclusion for his 96th cap was an interesting selection anyway given the presence of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the squad. The 35-year-old right-back will be under more scrutiny after being beaten to the ball for the equaliser.
Pace has long got Walker out of trouble but as he enters the veteran stage of his career, he is more and more reliant on positional sense and that was lacking when it mattered.
Walker spent the second part of this past season on loan at AC Milan but with the Italian club not taking up the option to keep him, the long-time Manchester City favourite finds his career at a crossroads. Time, unfortunately, is not on his side.
Keane’s verdict on ‘lazy’ Walker
Sky Sports’ Roy Keane speaking on ITV at half-time:
“If this is a young right-back starting out in the game, you are thinking inexperience. But do you know what I think? People saying it is a lack of concentration, I think it’s lazy.
“I think he has been lazy here. He is a vasty experienced player and he just cannot be bothered to get back in there. If it comes in, you are ready for it. He is on his heels and he almost cannot be bothered.
“I know he had a difficult couple of months but for a vastly experienced player, you cannot be making mistakes like that.”
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
