England Feels Fans’ Fury After Slumping to Senegal Defeat

Thomas Tuchel’s honeymoon period as England national team head coach is well and truly over after his Three Lions slumped to a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City round on June 10. The toothless lions were second best throughout the 90 minutes, and most of the 26,322-strong crowd made their dissatisfaction known with a chorus of boos after the referee blew the full-time whistle.

England had won all three games under Tuchel’s stewardship without conceding a goal. However, those FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches were against minnows Albania, Latvia, and Andorra, and none of the performances inspired confidence in England supporters. 

Tuchel’s men were massive favorites with the best offshore sportsbooks when they faced Andorra, a team ranked 173rd in the world, compared to England’s fourth place. On paper, this was a game England should have won by four or five goals, but the Andorrans held the Three Lions at bay until the 50th minute, and the game finished 1-0 to England despite them enjoying 83% possession.

England Had Never Lost to African Opposition

England welcomed Senegal to the City Ground in an international friendly on June 10 in what would likely be the team’s sternest test of Tuchel’s short reign. Pape Thiaw’s Lions de la Teranga were unbeaten in 21 games and had last tasted defeat in September 2023 in a friendly against Algeria.

Harry Kane gave England the perfect start by scoring his 73rd goal in an England shirt after only seven minutes, although Senegal had started strongly. In his first-ever press conference as England head coach, Tuchel stated he wanted his players to play with a smile on their faces, suggesting he would remove the shackles of his defensive-minded predecessor, Gareth Southgate. Nobody connected to England was smiling after Kane’s opener.

Senegal leveled five minutes before half-time when 35-year-old Kyle Walker switched off to allow Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr to score at the far post. Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra exploited the space behind the England defense to put the African side 2-1 to the good after 62 minutes, leading to the first chorus of boos from the home crowd.

England searched for an equalizer and played half-decent football as they increased the tempo. The home side thought they had equalized through Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham, only for the video assistant referee (VAR) to rule the goal out for handball against Levi Colwill.

With the last few seconds ticking away, Curtis Jones, deployed as a makeshift right-back, lost possession, allowing Cheikh Sabaly to put the final nail in England’s coffin with a cool finish past Dean Henderson. Senegal locked up an unexpected yet thoroughly deserved 3-1 victory. The defeat was the first under Tuchel and the first time ever that England had lost to an African team.

Have England Regressed Under Thomas Tuchel?

Gareth Southgate stepped down as England’s head coach after finishing as a quarter-finalist at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and runners-up at the 2020 and 2024 European Championships. Although those were impressive results, Southgate’s unwavering loyalty to some players and his unwillingness to unleash England’s full attacking power ultimately saw England fall short of their first major trophy since winning the 1966 World Cup.

The Football Association hired Tuchel, gave him a short 18-month contract, and gave him one objective: to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With only 12 months until the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Tuchel’s England look like they have no chance of lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy on July 19, 2026.

Tuchel was meant to be the catalyst for England finally winning a major trophy, building on the foundations Southgate had built. However, the German’s squad and team selections have left many England supporters and pundits scratching their heads in bemusement

Calling Up Players Nearing the Ends of Their Careers

Jordan Henderson was recalled for Tuchel’s first squad despite turning 35 next week. Henderson has been cruelly exposed during Tuchel’s four games in charge, and it is evident his best days are long behind him. The same can be said for Kyle Walker, who became the first player aged 35 or over to turn out in an England shirt since Frank Lampard in June 2014. Walker has struggled for form since joining AC Milan and looks like the shadow of the marauding full-back he once was.

Tuchel played Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones at right back and Chelsea’s right back Reece James as a makeshift left back, leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench despite his being good enough to sign for Real Madrid.

Then there are the German’s tactics. At Chelsea, Tuchel used a 3-5-2 formation with athletic wingbacks to provide the team’s width. Despite having the players to do so, he has yet to set up England in a similar formation.

Like previous managers, Tuchel seems to have an aversion to giving strikers other than Harry Kane some game time. While Kane’s England scoring record of 73 goals in 107 appearances is phenomenal, there are times when the Three Lions need something different up front. Tuchel called up Ivan Toney as the only other recognized striker for the Andorra and Senegal games. He left the former Brentford frontman on the bench against Andorra and called him into action in the 88th minute against Senegal. Not only is Tuchel making the same mistakes as Southgate, but he is also doing so with inferior tactics and a lesser-skilled squad.

Can England Win the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

England fans have become accustomed to easily sailing through World Cup qualifying, struggling to get out of their group at the finals, then falling to the first decent opponent they face. Based on Tuchel’s first four games in charge, it looks like England will follow this unwanted blueprint in a year’s time.

Tuchel’s England will not play again until September 6, when they host Andorra at Villa Park in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification game. By then, Tuchel should have a full roster of players. If England does not convincingly win that game, Tuchel will find himself under immense pressure, and the Football Association may be forced to relieve him of his duties.