Senegal hand Thomas Tuchel his first defeat as England boss.
England suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Senegal in a friendly at the City Ground.
Despite taking an early lead through Harry Kane, England conceded their first goal under Thomas Tuchel on the verge of halftime. Habib Diarra gave the visitors the lead on the hour mark before Cheikh Sabaly added a third late on to cap off an uninspiring England performance.
Photo by Paul Ellis/Getty Images
Thomas Tuchel made 10 changes to the side that beat Andorra in Barcelona, with Harry Kane the only player to retain his place in the starting XI.
Trevoh Chalobah made his England debut, starting in defence alongside Levi Colwill, while Crystal Palace's FA Cup-winning goalkeeper Dean Henderson replaced Jordan Pickford.
Alarm bells were ringing for England inside five minutes when Iliman Ndiaye sliced through the Three Lions' defence before finding Nicolas Jackson, whose drilled strike was well saved by Henderson.
Despite starting on the back foot, England took the lead two minutes later through Harry Kane.
Eberechi Eze did well to work the ball out to the left-hand side for Anthony Gordon, whose low, curling effort forced Edouard Mendy into a save. However, the former Chelsea keeper spilled it, and Kane was quickest to react to the loose ball.
Kane celebrates putting England ahead. Photo by Molly Darlington/ Getty Images
Senegal, who started the game brightly, did not let the goal affect their tempo, and Ismaïla Sarr almost equalised, but his powerful diving header was saved by his Crystal Palace teammate.
Gordon continued to be a growing threat down the left-hand side and had a huge chance to double England's lead. Kyle Walker put an enticing cross into the box for the Newcastle forward, but he was unable to hit the target from close range.
With five minutes left in the first half, Senegal drew level through Sarr. Jackson was quickest to reach a long ball and pulled it back into the box for Sarr, who nipped in front of a sleeping Walker and tucked it in from close range.
Just minutes earlier, Henderson had been forced to pull off a good save to keep out Idrissa Gana Gueye's strike, but he was unable to do anything about this one.
Sarr scores the equaliser for Senegal. Photo by Carl Recine/ Getty Images
The sides went into the break level at the City Ground, where a carnival atmosphere prevailed, and the second half started much the same for England – slow.
The Three Lions had a huge let-off when they were caught out in midfield, resulting in Habib Diarra breaking free and firing high and wide.
However, Diarra did manage to put Senegal ahead after a simple ball over the top fell nicely for the midfielder, who drove into England's box with ease and struck under the legs of Henderson.
England tried to respond quickly, with Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White's shot well saved by Mendy.
Photo by Jan Kruger - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Bukayo Saka then saw his strike pushed away from goal by the goalkeeper's fingertips.
Jude Bellingham thought he had drawn England level after bringing the ball down and firing home from close range, but VAR intervened, prompting referee Stéphanie Frappart to consult the pitch-side monitor.
After review, the goal was ruled out for handball.
Things went from bad to worse for England in added time when Senegal broke free following a poor set-piece from Noni Madueke, and Cheikh Sabaly kept his composure to produce a cool finish.
With exactly one year and one day to go before the start of the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel will have a lot of work to do if he wants his side to stand a chance in the tournament.