ENGLAND suffered their first defeat under Thomas Tuchel and their first to an African nation.
Despite taking an early lead through Harry Kane, Senegal fought back with goals either side of half-time in their friendly at the City Ground.
Crystal Palace star Ismaila Sarr equalised just before the break.
Then Habib Diarra beat Dean Henderson from a tight angle.
Jude Bellingham thought he had grabbed a late equaliser.
However, the close-range finish was ruled out by VAR for a handball in the build-up from Levi Colwill.
Then at the other end, a super Senegal counter-attack was rounded off by Cheikh Sabaly deep into injury time.
And so, following the drab 1-0 win over Andorra, it was more disappointment for England to wrap up the season with a year and a day to go until the World Cup.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay rated the Three Lions players…
Dean Henderson: 6
Making just his third cap for England, the Crystal Palace stopper made a number of good stops in the first half.
The pick of the bunch was against club-mate Ismaila Sarr’s header, but there was nothing Henderson could do about the jet-heeled winger’s finish shortly before the break.
May feel he could have done better for the second goal as he was beaten from an acute angle.
Kyle Walker: 3
This was Walker’s 96th cap – but his poor performance means a 97th is by no means guaranteed.
A good cross for Anthony Gordon aside, Walker was rusty with his touch and looked uncharacteristically slow.
The way Sarr raced past him for the leveller made you wonder if time is finally catching up on the 35-year-old stalwart.
Trevoh Chalobah: 6
An okay showing on his England bow, coming up against his Chelsea colleague Nicolas Jackson.
Though Chalobah was caught out for the leveller, with Jackson managing to get in behind him and hook it back for Sarr to net.
Chalobah’s appearance meant for just the third time since the start of the 20th century England had two brothers representing them, following on from sibling Nathaniel’s solitary cap in 2018.
Levi Colwill: 4
Not a great night for the Chelsea man on his fifth cap.
Had a slack pass charged down by Jackson early in the second half which served as a warning.
Then got nowhere near Habib Diarra as the midfielder raced onto a long ball from Blues old boy Kalidou Koulibaly and then slotted it past Henderson.
His handball also saw Jude Bellingham’s late equaliser ruled out after a VAR intervention.
Myles Lewis-Skelly: 5
Was nowhere to be seen when Koulibaly’s ball went into England’s left-back area for the second goal.
Did not do much else wrong but also did not catch the eye either with not a lot of stepping into midfield.
Then again, the guy is only 18 and it is more a mark of the brilliant impact he has made so far that this performance left you feeling underwhelmed.
Third cap.
Conor Gallagher: 5
Mixed game for the Atletico Madrid man who was one of four of England’s starting line-up heading off to the Club World Cup.
He was burnt for pace by Iliman Ndiaye early on, chose not to pass to Gordon when the Newcastle man was in the clear and was lucky not to be booked for a lunge on Sarr.
But he did tee up Gordon for the shot that led to Kane’s opener.
Declan Rice: 5
Some lax passing that perhaps was not unexpected in the final game of a long, frustrating season.
But let’s be honest, whatever Rice had done here, we know he will still be an automatic starter in central midfield come next summer.
The question remains, who will join him?
Bukayo Saka: 5
His first appearance under Thomas Tuchel, having been injured for the German’s first two games and left out for fitness reasons of the third against Andorra on Saturday.
It certainly was not his most memorable performance, though he was only just back from a strain.
Looked like he was about to level for 2-2 but was denied by a fabulous stop from Edouard Mendy.
Eberechi Eze: 7 (STAR MAN)
In a team performance bereft of real quality, Eze provided a few flashes of class.
He was the one who won the ball in the build-up to Kane’s opener.
While the Crystal Palace star also plucked the ball out of the air brilliantly on two occasions – and had a gorgeous backheel to tee up Morgan Gibbs-White.
Anthony Gordon: 5
Gordon’s international career has been a perplexing one, looking like it could explode at times but ultimately failing to launch so far.
This was his 12th cap and there were hints of what he can bring with his rapid pace and enthusiastic pressing.
But he was not clinical enough in front of goal, missing a sitter midway through the first half, once again leaving fans wondering if he has the genuine quality to shine at this level.
Harry Kane: 7
Kane plays, Kane scores. It has been rinse and repeat for a decade.
Here it happened again as he tapped in a rebound for his 73rd in 107 caps, an appearance feat which drew him level with Ashley Cole.
Did not do a right lot else, mind, although still looked our best passer, which is an issue for Tuchel and his midfield.
SUBS
Morgan Gibbs-White (for Gordon, 58): 6
Biggest cheer of the day was when the Nottingham Forest star was introduced in front of the City Ground. Had a blast well saved.
Curtis Jones (for Gallagher, 58): 5
Fired a shot well over soon after coming on, and lost the ball in the build-up to Senegal’s third.
Morgan Rogers (for Kane, 58): 6
Played up front when coming on while Ivan Toney was left on the bench. Full of running but the team struggled to pick him out.
Noni Madueke (for Saka, 70): 7
It was his corner that led to England’s equaliser – until ref Stephanie Frappart ruled it out after looking at her touchline monitor.
Jude Bellingham (for Rice, 70): 7
Thought he had levelled after a clever touch and finish but the goal was chalked off for Colwill’s handball.
Ivan Toney (for Lewis-Skelly, 87): 6
First England appearance since going to Saudi Arabia but he was on so late, he barely had time to make an impact – even if he has a famous history of doing exactly that.
MANAGER
Thomas Tuchel: 3
His first defeat in his fourth game and it was well-deserved.
Senegal were much the better team as his side lacked creativity and looked vulnerable at the back.
Question marks over his decision to play veterans like Walker – and Jordan Henderson in previous games – remain.
While you wondered what the point of selecting Ivan Toney was if he was barely going to play once Kane went off.
None of Tuchel’s quartet of matches have been that impressive so far – but this was downright dire.
Read the full article here
