Izuchukwu Okosi
Former African champions Senegal came from a goal down to beat England 3-1 Tuesday night’s international friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground Stadium.
The Three Lions went ahead in the 7th minute as Harry Kane pounced on a spilled ball by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to record his 73rd international goal at the senior level.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelSenegal created great chances but stand-in goalkeeper Dean Henderson kept Thomas Tuchel’s side in the game worg some done saves.
However Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr restored parity five minutes before the break as he beat Kyle Walker to the ball to steal in at the far post.
The goal was the first the English team had conceded under Tuchel in four games.
Senegal got into the lead through Habib Diarra who exploited space behind the hosts’ backline to beat Henderson.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy saved brilliantly from Morgan Gibbs-White who was teed up by Anglo-Nigerian star Eberechi Eze as well as Bukayo Saka.
England had a late goal scored by Jude Bellingham ruled out as Levi Colwill handled the ball in the buildup to the goal.
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Senegal scored the third and decisive goal in the closing stages of the match through substitute Cheikh Sabaly who profited from a sloppy Curtis Jones’ defending.
The defeat ended a previous run of 15 wins and six draws held by the English national team over African teams.
The English players were roundly booed by their own fans who expressed dissatisfaction by their performances.
Other African countries were also involved in top international friendly matches in the last one week.
The objective is to strengthen the teams, inject new players into the fold rank better in the next FIFA monthly rankings ahead of the next international window in September.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers will resume in three months time with African teams battling for the automatic nine spots.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
