England suffered a shocking comeback defeat to Senegal, recording its first loss ever to an African team.
On the 11th, in a friendly match against Senegal at the City Ground in Nottingham, England took the lead with a goal from Harry Kane but allowed Senegal to score 3 goals, resulting in a 3-1 comeback defeat.
This defeat snapped England's unbeaten record of 15 wins and 6 draws against African teams after 22 matches. It was also the first time they conceded 3 goals in a match against an African team.
England had a possession advantage of 60.7% to 39.3%, but failed to dominate the match with only 8 shots (4 on target) compared to Senegal's 11 shots (9 on target).
Fourth-ranked England employed a 4-4-2 formation against 19th-ranked Senegal. Up front, Kane (Bayern Munich) and Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) operated as the two strikers, while Anthony Gordon (Newcastle) and Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) were positioned as wingers.
England's head coach Thomas Tuchel made a bold move by replacing 10 of the 11 players from the starting lineup after returning from a 1-0 away win against Andorra on the 8th; however, this turned out to be a misstep. England suffered its first defeat under Tuchel after a three-match winning streak.
The early atmosphere was positive. In the 7th minute of the first half, after stealing the ball with a strong press in the opponent's half, Gordon's right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area deflected off the goalkeeper, allowing Kane to rush in and push it in with his left foot, scoring the opening goal.
However, in the 40th minute of the first half, Senegal levelled the score as Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace) finished a cutback from Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) with his right foot.
Senegal added another goal. In the 17th minute of the second half, Habib Diallo (Strasbourg) received a long pass from the back and scored with a right-footed shot that slipped between the goalkeeper's legs, shaking the England net.
In the 39th minute of the second half, Jude Bellingham's (Real Madrid) goal was cancelled after a video review determined that Levi Colwill (Chelsea) committed a handball, missing a chance to equalize.
Senegal sealed the victory with a late goal from Sheik Sabali (Metz) during a counterattack in stoppage time of the second half. The match concluded with a 3-1 victory for Senegal.
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