Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Senegal's Cheikh Sabaly celebrates following the international friendly match at The City Ground.Alamy Stock Photo Senegal stun England to put Thomas Tuchel under immediate pressure It was the Three Lions’ first-ever defeat against African opposition. 10.12pm, 10 Jun 2025 Share options ENGLAND SLUMPED to a 3-1 home friendly defeat by Senegal on Tuesday to ramp up the scrutiny on boss Thomas Tuchel, one year out from the World Cup. Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England’s first-ever defeat against African opposition at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground after Harry Kane had given the hosts an early lead. Tuchel was scathing in his criticism of his side’s dreary display in beating minnows Andorra just 1-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. The German, who was appointed with the task of ending England’s wait since 1966 for a major tournament win, has so far failed to spark a star-studded squad into looking like contenders for the World Cup, even if this was his first defeat in four games. Tuchel responded by making 10 changes, with Kane the only player to retain his place. Advertisement It took just seven minutes for the England captain to maintain his record of scoring in every game since Tuchel took charge. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy should have done better when he could only parry Anthony Gordon’s shot into the path of Kane, who tapped in his 73rd international goal. Dean Henderson was given a rare chance to impress in the England goal as Jordan Pickford was relegated to the bench. The Crystal Palace stopper made impressive saves from his club team-mate Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye. But he was helpless when Sarr made the most of a lack of concentration from Kyle Walker to meet Nicolas Jackson’s cross and fire into the bottom corner. England had never lost to African opposition in 22 previous matches, but Senegal had been beaten just once in open play since losing to the Three Lions at the 2022 World Cup. Diarra was afforded acres of room to run in behind the England defence and slot between the legs of Henderson to put the visitors in front just after the hour mark. Mendy made amends for his role in the opening goal with fine saves to deny Bukayo Saka and Morgan Gibbs-White a swift equaliser. England thought they had levelled late on when Jude Bellingham smashed home from a corner. But the goal was ruled out for a handball by Levi Colwill before the ball broke to the Real Madrid midfielder. Senegal made the most of that reprieve to seal a famous win in stoppage time when Sabaly rounded off a slick counter-attack. Boos rained down from the disgruntled home support to leave Tuchel with plenty to ponder before England are next in action in September. – © AFP 2025 View 11 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Senegal stun England to put Thomas Tuchel under immediate pressure”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Senegal stun England to put Thomas Tuchel under immediate pressure”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. 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