England booed off after Senegal loss as Thomas Tuchel faces big questions

Times

3 days ago

We've seen it before, Jude Bellingham at the death, whacking home to rescue England. That's how it seemed when Bellingham controlled with his thigh, volleyed past Édouard Mendy and the score on the big screen went to 2-2, and Jude the hero stuck out his tongue and whipped up the City Ground crowd.
But The Adventures of Thomas Tuchel in England really are not following the script. Bellingham's 'goal' was disallowed after a VAR check showed the ball came his way off Levi Colwill's arm. And the motif ended up not being a Bellingham celebration but Bellingham smashing the ball away, booting a bucket and screeching at the fourth official as boos hailed down on England's expensive imported manager. As the scoreboard, now at full-time, showed England 1 Senegal 3.
Oh, this was grim. Worse than Andorra, worse than England at Euro 2024 — they did not play well in those matches either but at least they got results. Here, they started with a return to 4-4-2 and ended with a return to blind panic and chaos. The eventual formation was something like 3-3-3-1: three defenders, and two tiers of wingers and No 10s behind Ivan Toney.
The final action was Senegal scoring their third with the kind of counterattack so easy it would usually be seen on the training ground against mannequins. Lamine Camarra ran down the right and centred for the substitute Cheikh Sabaly to sidefoot home. The England supporters who had not already left for all those nice pubs by the Trent erupted in jeers and the small section of Senegalese, behind the goal Sabaly scored into, danced and sang.
If Saturday's miserable 1-0 win against Andorra was the end of the Tuchel honeymoon this was the start of divorce proceedings in the minds of some fans, one of whom yelled 'Tuchel out' at the press box. The worst thing was Senegal, at last, offered the type of open, attack-minded opposition that gave England a quick game and space to play in — in contrast to their three previous Tuchel matches, against low-block sides who slowed things down. You expected them to look better with these dynamics. Instead they looked worse.
They had started well, with Harry Kane scoring from close in and Conor Gallagher and Eberechi Eze injecting energy into their game. But quickly they became easy to play through and Ismaïla Sarr's equaliser just before half-time was overdue.
The goal with which Senegal took control of the game, in the 62nd minute, summed up all the raggedness and meekness of England's defending. From deep, Kalidou Koulibaly lofted a teasing ball down England's left. Myles Lewis-Skelly did not know whether to hold position or go out to Krépin Diatta and looked to Morgan Gibbs-White, but Gibbs-White just stood there as Habib Diarra escaped him to run through and collect the ball. Diarra shot between Dean Henderson's legs.
The stage invited England to give a performance. Evening sun bathed the stands and the City Ground pulsed with an energy Wembley so often lacks. Nottingham Forest's Forza Garibaldi fan group unfurled a giant tifo honouring Viv Anderson, the first black footballer to play for England, who was raised in the Nottingham suburb of Clifton.
After Andorra, Tuchel knew he had to serve these fans something and plumped for the full English. England lined up in a 4-4-2 for the first time since Roy Hodgson was in charge. It was a nuanced version, with Kane and Eze playing in partnership and usually level with each other but often dropping off in tandem while Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon advanced to become England's highest players.
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This system had some success, with Kane enjoying receiving the ball deep and turning to spear diagonal passes. But there were also times when Senegal found it easy to play quickly through a flat, outnumbered England midfield. And when the Senegalese pressed high they were able to pen in England's back four, who then had to go long. It was less building through the thirds than hammering it to the nines.
One of Tuchel's beliefs, however, is that more important than tactics are 'behaviours' and some showed the traits he wants in England players: aggression, positive intent and speed of action. Gallagher throbbed with these as he led the pressing, and some brilliant pressuring from him and Eze forced the door open for England to score in the seventh minute.
Senegal overplayed deep, with Camara turning infield and trying to take the ball on a run in front of his defence. The midfielder plays in the Botola Pro League of Morocco, which may not be as fast paced as the Premier League, and he believed he had time. But converging on him from behind were Gallagher and Eze, and Eze came away with the ball, feeding Gallagher, who stepped past Diatta and slipped a pass to Gordon.
Using the side of his foot, Gordon shot low, catching Mendy before he was set. Mendy could not get his hands on the ball and it squirmed free, off his body, and Kane was there to tap in his 73rd England goal.
England forced other good situations but — as in Tuchel's previous games — were lacking in the final action. When Gallagher won high possession again with his pressing and fed Saka, Saka began one of his mazy runs inside that in Arsenal colours nearly always end with a testing left-foot shot. But he overdid the dribble and lost possession.
A far worse piece of wastefulness involved Gordon in the 27th minute. England put together their crispest move of the half, with Declan Rice, Gallagher and Saka zipping passes and Saka releasing Kyle Walker on the right. Walker whipped a searching, low ball across the face of goal and all Gordon had to do was steer it home at the back post, but he lost concentration and knocked it wide.
Yet even while England were creating chances, Senegal were having plenty of success going the other way. Iliman Ndiaye had opened England up after only four minutes, gliding between Lewis-Skelly and Gallagher and caressing a pass to Nicolas Jackson, and Henderson used his legs to make a good save from Jackson.
Walker was slow to track back for Senegal's equaliser…
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… and Sarr pounced to make it 1-1
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After ten minutes Henderson was having to palm away a drive from Idrissa Gueye and, midway through the half, Tuchel had his hands on his knees and was shouting at Lewis-Skelly to be more aggressive when his failure to close allowed Diatta to play inside and begin a switch of play. The ball went out to El Hadji Malick Diouf, the left back, who bent a brilliant cross on to the head of the arriving Sarr. Henderson made a fine save from his Crystal Palace team-mate's powerful header.
A further warning came when Ndiaye went on another dribble and laid back to Gueye, who shot through a crowd of bodies to force another stop from Henderson. But it went unheeded and Senegal's equaliser showed up all of England's worst traits. Carelessness, complacency, passivity. Far more players evidenced these bad 'behaviours' than there were those demonstrating the good ones.
These included, very worryingly, all of England's defensive players, and when Gueye collected possession deep and nine-ironed a fine long pass to Jackson, Trevoh Chalobah did nothing to pressure his Chelsea team-mate. Jackson hooked the ball back and there was Sarr, far too quick for wheezing old Walker, ready to smack it in.
Walker was booked for a weary challenge just before half-time and straight after the interval Senegal attacked down his side again, with Diouf crossing and Gueye skying a great chance.
Tuchel introduced Morgan Rogers, Curtis Jones and — to great roars — Gibbs-White just before Senegal's second goal, and with Kane off, Rogers joined Eze up front. The changes gave England a jolt of energy and when Eze's brilliant back-heel teed up Gibbs-White it was all set for the local favourite to be the hero — but Gibbs-White shot straight at Mendy.
Then, after superb combination play involving Gibbs-White and Eze, Saka failed to beat Mendy from eight yards. Again, playing for Arsenal, it surely would have been different. Tuchel must be the latest to wonder: just what does this England shirt do to players?
England (4-2-3-1): D Henderson 7 — K Walker 4, T Chalobah 5, L Colwill 5, M Lewis-Skelly 5 (I Toney 88) — B Saka 6 (N Madueke 71), C Gallagher 7 (C Jones 59, 6), D Rice 5 (J Bellingham 71), A Gordon 6 (M Gibbs-White 58, 6) — H Kane 7 (M Rogers 59, 6), E Eze 7. Booked Walker, Colwill.
Senegal (4-3-3) É Mendy 7 —K Diatta 8, K Koulibaly 7, M Niakhaté 6, E Diouf 7 —H Diarra 8 (P Gueye 71), I Gueye 9, L Camara 6 — I Sarr 8 (C Sabaly 70), N Jackson 7 (B Dia 82), I Ndiaye 7. Booked Diatta.