England vs Senegal LIVE: Thomas Tuchel’s side fail to impress again as Senegal seal historic win
England 1-3 Senegal: Another drab display saw Tuchel’s winning start as England boss come to an end
Thomas Tuchel’s winning start as England manager came to a crushing end as Senegal sealed a shock victory to become the first African side to beat the Three Lions.
Harry Kane gave the hosts an early lead but were pegged back before half-time, with Ismaila Sarr catching Kyle Walker napping to bring parity.
England failed to pick up the pace after the break and were punished by Habib Diarra as Tuchel’s defence was opened up far too easily, with the midfielder slotting through Henderson to send the away end into raptures.
Jude Bellingham then had a late equaliser ruled out by referee Stephanie Rappart for handball before England’s fate was sealed in stoppage time, with Cheikh Sabaly finishing off a lightning counter to condemn Tuchel to his first defeat in the England dugout.
Follow all the build-up and minute-by-minute action ahead of the international friendly:
Until we see again...
September 6. That’s when England are back in action - a whole 88 days away.
In the meantime, Thomas Tuchel has a lot of re-evaluating to do if he has any aspirations of making this team worthy of winning the World Cup in 12 months’ time.
Thinking time...
Senegal make African history
As drab as England were, all credit to Senegal, who were deserving winners on the night. They’re now the only African nation to have ever beaten England.
England player ratings as Kyle Walker epitomises defensive shambles against Senegal
It was another dire night at the office for Thomas Tuchel’s men - here’s how Ella Witcher rated the players:
England player ratings as Kyle Walker epitomises defensive shambles against Senegal
Thomas Tuchel's post-match thoughts
“It's a disappointing result,” he told ITV Sport. “Not sure if we did not deserve a little bit more result-wise. Felt a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time over the match.
“We defended quite well for long periods in the first half and then our best period came when we were 2-1 down. We conceded the first two goals - very easy goals, we need to defend better.
"The reaction was good after we were down. We suddenly were more active, more free, more fluent, more aggressive. We had big chances to equalise."
England ‘not good enough’ but won’t panic, says Harry Kane
Captain Harry Kane insisted England are “not going to panic” following a shock 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal.
“Again, not really good enough,” Kane told ITV Sport.
“We had again moments; just with and without the ball we aren’t quite clicking, aren’t quite finding the right passes, finding the right tempo.
“One v one, we’re losing duels, we’re losing just that aggressive nature that we’ve had and we got punished, we’re playing against a good side. We just weren’t good enough today.
“We’re not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better.”
England ‘not good enough’ but won’t panic – Harry Kane
England left battered and booed as Senegal expose the weaknesses Thomas Tuchel must address
Managing England, as Thomas Tuchel is fast discovering, is harder than it may seem. A chastening week took a turn for the worse, culminating in the boos that followed his first defeat. It is a moot point whether losing to an accomplished Senegal side is actually a better result than only beating Andorra 1-0 but, a year from the World Cup, England looked anything but potential winners. It was a momentous occasion instead for Senegal: when Cheikh Sabaly scored the injury-time third, they celebrated becoming the first African team ever to beat England. They did not merely overcome them. They outclassed them.
Out-passed, outrun and outwitted, England encountered opponents who were quicker of foot and mind, cleverer and more coherent. That can’t all be attributed to Tuchel, in just the fourth game of his reign, but this was a snapshot of familiar England weaknesses. They lost their way after taking an early lead, lacked control in midfield and looked less than the sum of their parts. They were dismal and dreadful.
Richard Jolly’s full report from the City Ground:
England left battered and booed as Senegal expose the weaknesses Tuchel must address
'Awful night for Tuchel and England'
An awful night for Thomas Tuchel and England. Yes, he can experiment in friendlies but the performance was terrible. The midfield was a problem, the defence a shambles at times. And it could illustrate that Kyle Walker should head for international retirement.
Thomas Tuchel becomes first England manager to lose to an African nation
FULL-TIME! England 1-3 Senegal
Thomas Tuchel’s winning start as England manager came to a crashing end as Senegal sealed a shock victory to become the first African side to beat the Three Lions.
Harry Kane gave the hosts an early lead but were pegged back before half-time, with Ismaila Sarr catching Kyle Walker napping to bring parity.
England failed to pick up the pace after the break and were punished by Habib Diarra as Tuchel’s defence was opened up far too easily, with the midfielder slotting through Henderson to send the away end into raptures.
Jude Bellingham then had a late equaliser ruled out by referee Stephanie Rappart for handball before England’s fate was sealed in stoppage time, with Cheikh Sabaly finishing off a lightning counter to condemn Tuchel to his first defeat in the England dugout.
Boos rain in from around the City Ground. That was pretty dire.
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