Soccer-Saka to feature in much-changed England team against Senegal
Soccer Football - England Press Conference - St. George's Park, Burton upon Trent, Britain - June 9, 2025 England's Bukayo Saka during a press conference Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs
BURTON UPON TRENT, England (Reuters) - Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka will feature in a much-changed England team for the friendly against Senegal on Tuesday, manager Thomas Tuchel said.
England laboured to a lacklustre 1-0 win over Andorra in World Cup qualifying on Saturday.
"After the last (Premier League) game of the season I had a little strain," Saka told reporters on Monday. "Fair play to England, they managed me well. The manager left me out (on Saturday) and said I will play tomorrow.
"I love coming to England camps and playing for England. It has been a bit of frustrating year with injuries but I am here now and looking forward to tomorrow."
Tuchel was very critical of his team's "lack of urgency" after the win over Andorra which put them in command of Group K.
"I protect my players, I said no names of players, it is not an individual matter," Tuchel said at the team's training base at St. George's Park.
"But as a team we did not reach our standards. I felt we didn't play seriously enough in what we needed to do in a World Cup qualifier.
"Why should we sugar coat it? You have been in the stadium, why should I tell you that we had a good game? No harm done. We can handle criticism."
England should face a tougher test against Senegal.
The African side, who lost 3-0 to England at the 2022 World Cup in the only previous match between the teams, are unbeaten in their last 23 matches across all competitions.
England have won all three games under Tuchel and their last six matches in all competitions, keeping a clean sheet in each of the last five.
Saka sidestepped a question about how Tuchel's managerial style compares to his predecessor Gareth Southgate.
"I don't really like to compare, if I'm honest," Saka said. "Since I have come into the camp (Tuchel) has been quite demanding, quite intense on the pitch and off the pitch he's been more relaxed.
"He's a nice guy, he let us enjoy ourselves and created a nice environment for all the players to enjoy."
The team spent Sunday evening watching Portugal beat Spain in the Nations League final.
"It was high level in the final. High-quality football," Tuchel said. "That's the benchmark, we will try to hunt that, to reach that and I'm convinced we have everything it takes to match that when we play these teams."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
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