England suffered a 3-1 defeat against Senegal in an international friendly at the City Ground on Tuesday, June 10, handing Thomas Tuchel his first loss in his tenure as the England manager.
England took the lead through Harry Kane quite early in the match, but Senegal bounced back to score thrice and win the match.
This was the first time England suffered a defeat in an international match against an African team.
After an uninspiring 1-0 win against Andorra a few days back, the loss to Senegal has raised a lot of eyebrows among the Three Lions supporters.
With the FIFA World Cup a year away, England’s preparations for the tournament do not seem to be in great shape.
England have won three matches against lowly opponents, but their faltering at the first difficult step that came their way must keep their supporters worried.
The Three Lions have often beaten less formidable opponents in the recent major tournaments, but have been found wanting whenever they have come up against really strong ones.
Harry Kane: England’s Constant Hope
Kane scored his 73rd goal in his 107th appearance for England in Tuesday’s game. The striker will be 32 next month and is likely to remain England’s prime goal-scoring threat despite approaching 33 when the next World Cup starts.
England’s goal against Senegal resulted from quality high-press, in which Eberechi Eze, preferred over Jude Bellingham as the No. 10 in the starting XI, played a key role.
However, it was a pity that Jude Bellingham, who was one of the contenders for the Ballon d’Or a year ago, failed to make it to the starting XI for the Three Lions. Phil Foden is another star Tuchel omitted from the squad on the grounds of poor form.
Anthony Gordon also started in the match but did not have a major impact.
However, it was England’s new-look defence consisting of Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill along with goalkeeper Dean Henderson, that was put to a stiff test by Senegal’s attack.
With Declan Rice and Conor Gallagher starting in the double-pivot ahead of the defence, there were still more young players in charge of the defence.
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Struggles in the Backline
Henderson was to blame for Senegal’s second goal, but considering that it was only the third international appearance for the Crystal Palace goalkeeper, one might tend to make allowances.
However, it cannot be denied that Henderson failed to grab the opportunity created by Jordan Pickford’s absence with both hands.
With Myles Lewis-Skelly also starting as the left-back, England’s back-four was quite young with the exception of the veteran Kyle Walker. Walker, the seniormost member of the squad at 35, might, however, find it tough to start in next year’s tournament, as he will be 36 then.
Still, the way England’s defensive line was breached repeatedly by through passes played by Senegal, will keep Tuchel worried.
So far, his team has failed to display the kind of football that is expected from them.
However, the 53-year-old German is an experienced campaigner and is expected to possess the acumen to extract better performance from his wards.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sportsphoto
Recording Date: 10.06.2025