England’s players were booed off at the final whistle as they crashed to their first loss of Tuchel’s reign.
Harry Kane fired the Three Lions into an early lead, but after Ismaila Sarr levelled shortly before the interval, England’s defensive shortcomings reappeared again in the second half.
Habib Diarra fired Senegal into the lead, and after Jude Bellingham had an effort chalked off because of a handball from Levi Colwill, Cheikh Sabaly confirmed his side’s victory with a third goal in stoppage time.
What were the main talking points from England’s miserable night in Nottingham?
DEFENSIVE DILEMMAS
Harry Maguire’s international days are seemingly behind him, while John Stones’ injury problems restricted him to just six Premier League starts with Manchester City last season, but the alternatives to the duo are yet to make a convincing case for their regular inclusion.
On Saturday, Newcastle United’s Dan Burn partnered Ezri Konsa at centre-half as England stumbled past Andorra. They kept a clean sheet in Barcelona, although that hardly counts for much against a side ranked 173 in the world. Burn’s development into a full international has been one of the feelgood stories of the season, but at 33, is the North-Easterner really going to be the answer at next summer’s World Cup?
Perhaps the more youthful Trevoh Chalobah and Colwill can develop into international partners as well as club colleagues at Chelsea? The Stamford Bridge team-mates played alongside each other this evening, with Trevoh following in his brother, Nathaniel’s, footsteps as he made his international debut.
MORE SPORT:
How did they fare? Badly. They were indebted to Dean Henderson on two occasions in the opening 15 minutes, with the Crystal Palace goalkeeper saving with his legs from Nicolas Jackson, who was able to ghost into space on the right of the box, before clawing away Sarr’s header after his Palace team-mate was left completely unmarked eight yards out.
Just before half-time, though, England’s defence was undone as they conceded for the first time under Tuchel. Kyle Walker switched off to allow Sarr to slot home, but Chalobah was also at fault as he allowed Jackson to break past him in order to pull the ball back. From an English defensive point of view, it was a goal that had been coming. It was also proof of a long-standing problem Tuchel still has to solve.
Things then got worse after the interval, with neither Colwill nor Myles Lewis-Skelly picking up Diarra as the Senegal midfielder broke into the right of the box and drilled a shot through Henderson’s legs. At various stages of the evening, all four of England’s defenders erred badly.
CONOR’S CHANCE
With all that in mind, there has to be a place open at the heart of the England midfield, with Declan Rice currently the only guaranteed starter in the central unit. Southgate was grooming Kobbie Mainoo for the role, but the 20-year-old has dropped out of favour at Manchester United. Lee Carsley liked Angel Gomes, but the youngster has been nowhere to be seen under Tuchel.
Conor Gallagher has just completed a strong season in Spain with Atletico Madrid, making 27 starts in all competitions under Diego Simeone. This evening’s outing was his first England start since last November’s Nations League win over the Republic of Ireland, and it was something of a mixed bag for the midfielder.
There were some good aspects to his display, most notably when he pressed aggressively to win possession high up the field, but his positioning was questionable on occasion, with Senegal’s midfielders playing through the lines to penetrate into England’s 18-yard box. Is Gallagher the answer? On this evidence, the jury remains out.
WHERE’S TONEY?
Tuchel has not seen Saudi Arabia-based Toney play at first hand during his reign as England boss, so surely this evening’s friendly was the perfect chance to play the former Brentford striker from the start to see if he is still up to international football?
No. Instead, Kane was the only survivor from Saturday’s starting line-up in Barcelona, with his presence once again highlighting the lack of viable alternatives if something goes wrong with England’s all-time record goalscorer next summer.
True, Ollie Watkins would probably be the next cab off the rank. But where does that leave Toney? Out in the cold, presumably, with Tuchel seemingly having been unimpressed with the 29-year-old’s efforts in training in the last fortnight.
Even when Kane was withdrawn shortly before the hour mark, it was Morgan Rogers who came on to replace him rather than a furious-looking Toney, with England playing without a recognised ‘number nine’. Toney was eventually brought on in the 88th minute, but it felt like a change Tuchel felt compelled to make rather than one he actually wanted to enact.
England’s need for a fit and firing Kane next summer feels as pronounced as ever, with last night’s seventh-minute opener taking the striker to 73 goals for the Three Lions. It was a simple enough finish, with Kane stabbing home after Edouard Mendy failed to hold Anthony Gordon’s low shot, but as ever, England’s skipper was in the right place at the right time.
HIGHS AND LOWS FOR GORDON
Firing a ball over the top for Gordon to run onto was a ploy England used on a number of occasions, with the winger’s willing running stretching play and putting the Senegalese defence on the back foot before the interval.
Gordon was integral to his side’s first-half opener, firing in the low shot that led to Kane’s goal, and Tuchel will have pleased with the Magpies wide-man’s energy and drive, attributes that were sorely lacking in England’s soporific attacking display on Saturday against Andorra.
Unfortunately for Gordon, though, when the opportunity came to cap his performance with a goal, he was found wanting. The net was gaping when Walker slid over a low cross in the 27th minute, but from no more than three yards out, Gordon somehow stabbed a back-post effort wide of the target.
It was a dreadful miss, highlighting an aspect of Gordon’s game where there is still considerable room for improvement. At international level, especially against the leading nations, chances can be few and far between. You have to take them when they come along.
