Although Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 8th minute with a rebound after Anthony Gordon's shot that goalkeeper Édouard Mendy could not hold, it was a rare bright spot in the match for England. They were completely outclassed by Senegal's speedy, flexible and organized play.
The visitors equalised in the 40th minute after Kyle Walker lost concentration, allowing Ismaïla Sarr to run in at the far post. It was England’s first goal conceded in four games under Tuchel – and a sign that a defence that had been expected to be a success was starting to crack.
The second half continued to be the "stage" of the African representative. In the 62nd minute, Habib Diarra broke the offside trap, received a pass from Kalidou Koulibaly and finished through Dean Henderson's legs to increase the score to 2-1.
In the final minutes, despite the efforts of Morgan Gibbs-White, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham, England could not equalize. Bellingham had the ball in the net in the 83rd minute but it was disallowed after VAR determined that the ball had touched Levi Colwill's hand in the previous situation.
The defeat was concluded by a goal in injury time (90+2): Curtis Jones lost the ball, allowing Idrissa Gueye to assist Cheikh Sabaly to shoot diagonally past Henderson, setting the score at 3-1 for Senegal.
Tuchel admits: "England are frozen"
Speaking after the match, coach Thomas Tuchel could not hide his disappointment: “It felt like the team was ‘frozen’. We were not proactive, not aggressive for most of the time. But this is just a friendly match. There is no need to panic.”
Coach Tuchel also admitted that Senegal's fighting spirit is what England are lacking: "I heard Senegal cheering in the dressing room. I wonder if we had won the match, would we have reacted like that? Probably not. And that's the problem."
The German coach admitted that the team is still in the process of "transforming its identity": "We have not yet been able to translate what we show on the training ground into the match. It was only after being 1-2 down that the players started to be more free and creative. That is a sign of a constrained mentality."
Concerns before World Cup 2026
The defeat ended England’s 21-match unbeaten run against African opposition (15 wins, 6 draws). More worryingly, this was the second consecutive match in which England were booed by their own fans after the final whistle – something that has rarely been seen in recent years.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson had to work hard to keep out shots from Idrissa Gueye and Ismaïla Sarr, while Tuchel's defence continued to show gaps - which Senegal took full advantage of.
England now have three wins and one defeat under Tuchel, but victories against weaker opponents like Andorra have not been enough to appease fans.
Rigid playing style, a defense system with many loopholes and the ability to organize attacks lacking innovation are making fans question.
Meanwhile, Senegal – led by Kalidou Koulibaly, Gueye, and in fine form by Sarr – have proven that they are fully capable of being challengers at the upcoming World Cup.
The defeat to Senegal is not only a forgettable statistic for English football, but also a warning bell for Thomas Tuchel.
With the 2026 World Cup less than a year away, England don’t have much time to figure out their style of play and their character. Fans are expecting a more individual and sharp Three Lions – something they haven’t seen since the early days of the new era.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/tuyen-anh-that-thu-13-truoc-senegal-ngay-tren-san-nha-141869.html
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