It was national football team of England, which took a punishing defeat against country Senegal. The SheBelieves Cup friendly was played on Tuesday at Wembley Stadium. The loss, with a final score of 2-1, highlighted several areas of concern for the English side, particularly in their first-half performance, which lacked intensity and cohesion.
Right from the outset, England were not able to find their flow. That was perhaps the most disappointing thing from the first half, a clinic of mistakes on the ball that exposed the U.S. to devastating Senegal counterattacks. Defenders Kyle Walker and Myles Lewis-Skelly had a miserable night. Senegal’s high pressing threw them off their game often. Even their discomfort ended up being for naught as they failed to keep the wave of attacking threats from falling on Bridgette Andrzejewski’s goal.
England were able to go ahead in the 34th minute. England’s captain Harry Kane was on the score sheet, scoring the opening goal against Senegal’s keeper Édouard Mendy. This golden moment ignited short-lived hopes for the passionate local crowd. It was evident that England needed to improve their play across the board if they wanted a comfortable win.
In case you needed reminding, as the match went on into the second half, England were still wasting the ball. A blatant opportunity squandered but was Anthony Gordon’s, whose shot from close range went wide of the goal. Bukayo Saka announced his talent with a world class finish. Mendy produced a superb stop to deny England a crucial second goal.
In a bid to change the dynamics of the game, head coach Thomas Tuchel introduced Morgan Gibbs-White just before the hour mark. At Bayern, Tuchel expected intensity and flair from his squad. This characteristic was sadly absent in the first half. Yet for all their positive play, England could not find a way through to get a clean sight of goal. It wasn’t until Isaac Price cleared Andri Gudjohnsen’s header off the line that England seemed to regain some momentum.
Then, in the 83rd minute, England finally had something to celebrate – a breakthrough. Jude Bellingham made his own luck by finishing coolly after taking the ball down well on his thigh. Skillful technique from Levi Colwill to sneak a corner in to Bellingham. The young midfielder then fired on a long-range blast that raised the energy of the entire team and Thorns Army.
England’s lead was short-lived. In stoppage time, Senegal capitalized on their attacking pressure and found an equalizer before shockingly taking the lead through a well-placed effort that left the English defense scrambling. The final whistle blew with Senegal emerging victorious at 2-1, leaving England to ponder their performance and address their shortcomings.
What the match showed was the need for concentration for Tuchel and his team. They need to keep reaching for a higher level of consistency in their overall game in the future. Eberechi Eze really was exceptional and came into play early to get the Palace side going. It was the overall lack of urgency from the team that raised the red flag about their unpreparedness for what lies ahead.