England suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on June 10, raising serious questions about head coach Thomas Tuchel just a year out from the 2026 World Cup.
Despite taking an early lead through Harry Kane, the hosts were undone by goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra, and Cheikh Sabaly in what marked England’s first-ever loss to African opposition in 22 matches.
The result capped a disappointing international window for Tuchel, who had openly criticised his team’s lacklustre 1-0 win over Andorra in a World Cup qualifier just three days earlier. Appointed to end England’s long wait for a major trophy, Tuchel now faces growing scrutiny after his first loss in four games at the helm.
“We need to see the players in these conditions, against a top-20 side, to be smarter,” Tuchel said post-match. “We’re not going to the World Cup next week—we go in one year.”
In response to the poor showing against Andorra, Tuchel made sweeping changes, retaining only Kane in the starting XI. The Bayern Munich striker continued his fine form, netting his 73rd international goal in the seventh minute to maintain his scoring streak under Tuchel.
However, England’s early dominance quickly faded. Crystal Palace keeper Dean Henderson, starting in place of Jordan Pickford, produced solid stops to deny club teammate Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye, but could do nothing when Sarr capitalised on Kyle Walker’s lapse in concentration to fire home the equaliser.
Senegal, who have lost just once in open play since their defeat to England at the 2022 World Cup, began to take control. Diarra put the visitors ahead just past the hour mark, bursting through a disorganised defence to slot the ball between Henderson’s legs.
England thought they had salvaged a draw late on when Jude Bellingham rifled in a loose ball from a corner, only for VAR to rule it out due to a handball by Levi Colwill in the buildup.
Moments later, Senegal sealed the win. A quick counter-attack ended with Sabaly calmly finishing in stoppage time, silencing the home crowd and prompting loud boos at the final whistle.
Captain Harry Kane admitted his side fell well short of expectations: “Not good enough. We had moments, but we’re not clicking—on or off the ball. We’ve lost that aggressive nature we once had.”
With England not due to play again until September, Tuchel now has a long summer to reflect—and regroup—as he looks to steer his team back on course ahead of the World Cup countdown.
