Senegal becomes first African team to defeat England

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 - Boos echoed around the City Ground on Tuesday night, June 10, as England suffered a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in an international friendly, marking both a historic win for the visitors and the first loss under new England coach Thomas Tuchel.

Senegal’s victory made them the first African nation to beat England in an official match, overcoming an early goal from Harry Kane to dominate the game and expose glaring issues in Tuchel’s side.

Kane, the only player retained from last week’s narrow 1-0 win over Andorra, opened the scoring in the seventh minute by capitalizing on a goalkeeping error from Edouard Mendy. The England captain’s 73rd goal extended his national record, but it was not enough to settle the team, who appeared disjointed throughout the match.

Senegal equalized in the 40th minute when Nicolas Jackson chased a long ball and cut it back for Ismaila Sarr, who outran Kyle Walker and finished cleanly. The momentum swung further in Senegal’s favour after halftime as a long pass found Habib Diarra, whose misdirected attempt deflected off England goalkeeper Dean Henderson and into the net for 2-1.

England believed they had levelled the score late in the game when Jude Bellingham netted from a corner, but the goal was ruled out due to an earlier handball by Levi Colwill. Moments later, Senegal sealed their historic win when Cheikh Sabaly finished a swift counterattack in stoppage time.

Kane admitted after the match that the team lacked their usual intensity. “We’re not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better,” he told ITV. “We’ve lost that aggressive nature that we’ve had.”

The result is a setback for Tuchel, who had already criticized his players' attitude following the Andorra win. The defeat raises questions about England’s preparedness ahead of more competitive fixtures.

In other international action, Memphis Depay scored twice as the Netherlands thrashed Malta 8-0 in World Cup qualifying. The goals marked Depay’s 49th and 50th for his country, tying Robin van Persie’s all-time scoring record for the Dutch men’s national team.

Austria defeated San Marino 4-0, while Romania beat Cyprus 2-0. Serbia secured a 3-0 win over Andorra, and Latvia drew 1-1 with Albania. Finland’s game against Poland was briefly suspended due to a medical emergency, with Finland leading 2-1 before the match resumed.