England suffered their first defeat in 22 meetings against Senegal as the West African side extended their unbeaten streak to 24 matches with a commanding 3-1 win in a friendly at the City Ground on Tuesday.
Despite an early goal from captain Harry Kane, England — fielding a heavily rotated side — were second-best for much of the game. Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly ensured a memorable win for Aliou Cissé’s side and handed Thomas Tuchel his first defeat since taking charge of the Three Lions.
The result brought England’s four-game unbeaten run under Tuchel to a halt, sparking concern just months before the World Cup. “Not good enough,” said Kane in a post-match interview with ITV.
“We had moments, but with and without the ball things aren’t clicking. We’ve lost that aggressive nature we had.”
England, who made ten changes from their uninspired 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra on Saturday, started brightly. Kane opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Edouard Mendy failed to hold onto Anthony Gordon’s low drive, spilling the ball into the path of the England skipper for a simple finish.
However, Senegal responded with authority. The equaliser came in the 40th minute when Nicolas Jackson’s low cross found Sarr, who got in behind Kyle Walker and poked home from close range, marking the first goal England had conceded under Tuchel.
Senegal took control in the second half, and Diarra put them ahead in the 62nd minute, latching onto a lofted pass and finishing confidently through goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s legs. England pushed for a response, but a disallowed goal from Jude Bellingham — chalked off for handball in the build-up — and a sharp Mendy save to deny Bukayo Saka were as close as they came.
Substitute Sabaly added a third for Senegal deep into stoppage time, capping off a dominant display and prompting jeers from the home crowd at full time.
Tuchel acknowledged the shortcomings in his side’s performance. “Disappointing result. Maybe we didn’t deserve to lose by two goals, but for long stretches we looked frozen, not active enough,” the German said. “We conceded two very easy goals. Our reaction was better once we were down, more aggressive, more fluid. But we must improve quickly.”
Senegal were the sharper side throughout, registering nine shots on target to England’s four. Sarr had an early header well-saved by Henderson, while Gordon missed a gilt-edged chance to double England’s lead before half-time.
The result underlines Senegal’s growing stature on the international stage, while England face a period of introspection. With new faces still being integrated and the World Cup fast approaching, Tuchel will be under pressure to restore form and confidence.
“We’re not going to panic,” Kane said. “But we know we need to be better. There are new ideas, new players, and no excuses. We need to find our rhythm — and fast.”
