Senegal wrote a new chapter in international football history on Tuesday night, becoming the first African team to defeat England in 22 matches, with a resounding 3-1 win in an international friendly at the City Ground in Nottingham.
Despite taking an early lead, England struggled to match the tempo and aggression of the Teranga Lions, who extended their own unbeaten run to 24 games with goals from Ismaïla Sarr, Habib Diarra, and Cheikh Sabaly.
The night began brightly for the home side, when captain Harry Kane struck in the 7th minute to open the scoring, pouncing on a rebound after Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy spilled Anthony Gordon’s effort.
It marked Kane’s 73rd international goal, reaffirming his place as England’s all-time top scorer.
However, the hosts’ control of the game was short-lived. Senegal gradually grew into the match and found their rhythm, exposing gaps in England’s defense. The breakthrough came in the 40th minute when Ismaïla Sarr caught Kyle Walker off-guard to convert Nicolas Jackson’s low cross, leveling the score.
Senegal took the lead shortly after the break. In the 62nd minute, Habib Diarra latched onto a long ball over the top and fired low between Dean Henderson’s legs, giving the visitors a deserved advantage. England came close to equalizing, with Bukayo Saka denied by a fine late save from Mendy.
But it was Senegal who had the final say. In stoppage time, Cheikh Sabaly drilled in a third goal to seal the upset, prompting a chorus of boos from disappointed England fans as the final whistle blew.
Captain Kane didn’t mince words post-match, admitting that his side was falling short of expectations under new manager Thomas Tuchel.
“Not good enough,” Kane told reporters.
“We had moments, but with and without the ball things aren’t clicking, we’re not finding the right tempo. We’ve lost that aggressive nature that we had.”
The match saw Tuchel make ten changes to the side that narrowly beat Andorra 1-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. But the new setup struggled to deliver, with England’s structure appearing disjointed and lethargic.
Tuchel, who took over from Gareth Southgate following Euro 2024, admitted his team looked sluggish.
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“Disappointing result, not sure if we didn’t deserve a little bit more result-wise,” the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and PSG boss said.
“But [we] felt again a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match.
We conceded the first two goals, very easy goals, that we needed to defend better.
The reaction was good after we were down, suddenly more active, more free, more fluid, more aggressive toward the opponent’s goals. We had then big chances to equalise.”
England appeared to have pulled one back late on when Jude Bellingham found the net, but the goal was chalked off after a VAR review revealed a handball in the build-up.
Senegal finished the game with nine shots on target to England’s four, showcasing their attacking intent from start to finish. Sarr had already threatened early in the match with a powerful header that forced Henderson into a reflex save.
Meanwhile, Gordon missed a golden opportunity to double England’s lead in the first half, misfiring from close range.
The Three Lions skipper, Kane, while acknowledging that the team is in a transitional phase following Southgate’s exit, stressed that excuses will not suffice with the World Cup just around the corner.
“We’re not going to panic but we know we need to be better,” he said.
“New ideas, there’s new players coming into the team that don’t have experience at international level.
It’s a mixture of things but no excuses. We need to find it quick, the World Cup is going to come around really fast so every camp is really important right now.”
Despite the back-to-back underwhelming performances, England still sits atop their qualifying group, having won all three of their matches against Albania, Latvia, and Andorra.
Nonetheless, the pressure is mounting on Tuchel just four games into his tenure. Tuesday’s loss not only snapped England’s 21-match unbeaten run against African opposition but also raised serious questions about the team’s readiness for next year’s World Cup.
