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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tuchel searches for England's missing joy after worrying defeat to Senegal
It was 11pm on Tuesday and it sounded as if there was some kind of road rage incident on the forecourt of the City Ground in Nottingham. All that could be heard was the deep blare of a horn from a large vehicle, which went on for an uncomfortably long time. Then the realisation dawned. It was the Senegal team bus and the driver was geeing up the gaggle of fans draped in the country's colours, still ecstatic at how they had beaten England 3-1. The celebrations had got into full swing when Cheikh Sabaly, on as a substitute, swept home the clinching goal in stoppage time, the Senegal bench emptying, everybody wanting in on it. No team from Africa had beaten England before and it did not matter it was a friendly. The scene in the visiting dressing room was probably best described – as heard – by Thomas Tuchel. 'The players came in … it was next to my changing room … screaming: 'Senegal!' The next one: 'Senegal!'' the England head coach said. 'Hitting on boxes and whatever. It was not offensive. It was nice to see what it means to them.' Tuchel wondered how his players would have reacted if they had won 3-1. 'Would player after player go in the dressing room, would the coach go in the dressing room, screaming: 'England'? Would the players jump up and down? Or would we all say: 'Hey guys, it's a friendly match, this is what we expect'?' Tuchel's question was essentially rhetorical. England would not have been overjoyed. 'We would have said: 'Calm down, it's just a friendly, it was good but OK … a good development, put it into context,'' he said. 'It shows me what it means to them, an excitement and joy to celebrate this victory. We are not there at the moment. 'We expect a lot from us. I get it because we expect also a lot from us and myself. I'm missing a little bit the excitement and laughter and the joy. I see it in training. I saw a glimpse of it after the 2-1 [for Senegal in the 62nd minute]. I liked the reaction [to that goal]. But in general: no.' For Tuchel, something is missing and he seems a little baffled. When he breezed into the job, it was with talk of a quick and aggressive approach, of Premier League passions, of a band of brothers high-fiving their way to World Cup glory. The famous Tommy Tuchel main character energy would light a fire in everyone. It has not happened, the overall sense being a heaviness of body and soul, safe passes into feet, not enough dynamic running or risk-taking. It is a worry. Tuchel is not the first England coach to see a gap between how the players express themselves at club level and for the national team; how happiness and freedom can be overtaken by fear of what might go wrong, a desire just to muddle through. Against Senegal, there were other causes for alarm, starting with a back four that has a transitional feel with John Stones injured and Tuchel looking beyond Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. It was easy to fret about the fourth member of the defensive line that has served England so well for so long. Kyle Walker was awfully slow to react to Ismaïla Sarr's run for the Senegal equaliser and it chimed with a jittery performance undermined by an apparent lack of certainty in the attribute that has always sustained him: pace. Has it finally deserted him? Tuchel made the point that Walker lacked rhythm after a disrupted end to the season with Milan, mainly because of a broken arm. It was his first start since 5 April. Tuchel also said it was vital that Walker, and every other England player, was able to resolve his club situation. Walker is back at Manchester City, but he will not go with them to the Club World Cup. The 35-year-old has been written off before, not least when he went more than a year without a cap under Gareth Southgate from the summer of 2019. He must find the answers again if he is to reach 100 caps. He is on 96. There were errors across the defence against Senegal; the first two concessions, in particular, so cheap after routine balls over the top. Trevoh Chalobah was exposed on the first, Myles Lewis-Skelly on the second. Then there was the structure as England tried to build out from the goalkeeper, Dean Henderson. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The team were static, the options not there, which also took in those in midfield. Passes went astray under pressure. Tuchel needs time to finesse the patterns and it will be vital to master a controlled, possession-based approach for the expected high temperatures at the World Cup next summer. He does not have time. The good bit against Senegal, after the stodge of the 1-0 qualifying win over Andorra in Barcelona on Saturday, came in response to Habib Diarra's goal for 2-1. With Morgan Gibbs-White and Morgan Rogers on and Eberechi Eze coming alive, there was speed and intensity, promising combinations. Tuchel would also introduce Jude Bellingham and Noni Madueke in the 71st minute. An equaliser looked on, although it did not come, Bellingham having a goal disallowed towards the end. There were questions within this, including where it left Harry Kane, who made way for Rogers. The captain scored England's early goal and caught the eye, dropping deep to make turns and play searching passes. However, the team danced to his tune and played at a slower pace. Perhaps, as Tuchel has suggested, England will need more than one way of working. As Tuchel assesses the camp, he will know there were mitigating factors for the performances. The tired legs after a gruelling club season. The awkward break between its climax and the international matches, the need for many players to effectively clock back on. The lack of jeopardy against Andorra and Senegal. Tuchel is fond of telling reporters what the headline in their newspapers should be. So, what was it after Senegal? 'Your headline is maybe a bit harder than I would make a headline,' he said, with a smile. 'Headline: yeah … a lot to learn.'
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
What Senegal's win over England means a year before the World Cup: ‘We have arrived'
Thomas Tuchel's stern glare in his post-match press conference betrayed his frustration. His England side had been deservedly beaten by Senegal in Nottingham on Tuesday. Not only that — their celebrations had reached his ears. 'You feel what it means to them to beat us,' he told the media, snarkily. 'I heard it because my changing room was next to the dressing room of Senegal. Advertisement 'Would we have celebrated in the same manner? Would I have been screaming? Would the players… have thought, 'It's just a friendly match and the gaffer needs to calm down?'' Just a friendly? Try telling that to the Senegal players and fans, whose euphoric celebrations brought joy to their section of the City Ground. This was England's first-ever defeat against an African side in 21 encounters and extended Senegal's unbeaten run to 22 matches. It was also only the second time in their history that England have lost by two or more goals after scoring first. Senegal, 19th in FIFA's world rankings, see the 3-1 win as far more than a meaningless friendly at the end of a long, gruelling season. They see it as just the start. Senegal have World Cup qualifiers in September and October before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off in late December. If they manage to qualify for the World Cup, they would take part in the tournament next summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Simon Ndiaye, 34, travelled from France to attend the game with friends and was enthusiastic about what the performance promised for the future. 'The match was perfect,' he tells The Athletic. 'The victory was very deserved, well merited. It is positive for the future and the AFCON competition, it will be a very good opportunity. '(The result) gives a positive atmosphere for the team and it allows the Senegal team to prepare for the World Cup qualification fixtures with belief for this moment.' Mohamed Salad, a journalist specialising in African football, also thinks the win will give the players confidence ahead of what could be a big year. He says: 'I wasn't as surprised as a lot of people were. Senegal haven't lost a competitive game in 90 minutes since England at the 2022 World Cup, and have only conceded twice in the last 13 months of competitive football. Advertisement 'They should be higher in the world rankings. That's how much I respect them. African football as a whole has improved significantly over the past two years. Look at some of the players who played yesterday: (Everton's) Iliman Ndiaye, (Crystal Palace's) Ismaila Sarr. They play at a high level in the Premier League, so they're not going to look at Declan Rice and think, 'Oh my God, this is such an overwhelming experience', which was the case a lot before. Was this a one-off result, or the result of a few years of development? Salad continues: 'Every international break, they find two or three new young Senegalese players breaking through. El Hadji Malick Diouf, Habib Diarra. They do have a very, very good system developed for bringing young players through and integrating them. In 2023, they won the Under-17 AFCON, they've been a consistent feature in the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups. 'Beating England is a massive, massive statement. And it shows what a lot of us think already: Senegal can step onto the pitch and compete with anyone and impose their game.' This was a committed, consistent and complete performance from Senegal. They had 11 shots to the hosts' eight and nine shots on target to four. This was no smash-and-grab result — it was one inspired by the tactical outlook of manager Pape Thiaw. The direct Sarr swapped wings with Ndiaye early to attack England's weaker right side, dovetailing nicely with overlapping full-back Diouf. With Kyle Walker too narrow and Bukayo Saka too high, Senegal manufactured constant two-on-ones. Dynamic No 8s Lamine Camara and Diarra, both 21, pushed up onto Declan Rice and Conor Gallagher's double pivot to stifle England's progressive passing lanes. Thiaw was happy to trust their players in isolated one-on-one battles all over the pitch: trust they repaid. The manager wasn't getting carried away, however. His calm press conference suggests he knows Senegal's potential ceiling is even higher than they showed in Nottingham. He said: 'I would like to congratulate my players who have won this match for their tremendous performance and mindset. Advertisement 'We felt we were on top but then they scored a goal. We came back, showed a great mentality, in the second half we were able to impose our game a bit more. 'Well done to the players, well done to the federation for enabling us to play this kind of match. There are always things we can do better.' Senegal have won the Africa Cup of Nations once — in 2021. In 2002, they played in their first ever World Cup and managed to reach the quarter-finals. At the last World Cup, in Qatar, they were knocked out in the round of 16 by England. But at that tournament in 2022, another nation from Africa — Morocco — managed to become the first team from the continent to reach the semi-final stage. Salad believes that yesterday's win can be the springboard for greater achievements: 'Two years ago, they played Brazil in a friendly, beat them 4-2, and it was just as convincing as it was yesterday. These games say to Senegalese fans: 'We have arrived, and we can go on a run like Morocco did at the last World Cup'.'
