The English national team lost for the first time under Thomas Tuchel. While Senegal made history, the German coach called for calm.
With three wins and no goals conceded in World Cup qualifying – a first – Thomas Tuchel’s tenure as England manager got off to a flying start. After a disappointing but at least successful 1-0 win over Andorra, the Three Lions played a friendly against Senegal on Tuesday evening – and promptly set another precedent.
At City Ground, the home ground of Nottingham Forest, England lost to an African national team for the first time. The previous 21 encounters had ended 15 times in favor of the 1966 World Cup winners and five times in a draw. The last time England lost to a team from another continent was in 2003, when they were beaten 3-1 by Australia at the now demolished Upton Park.
More boos from England fans
As was the case after the match against Andorra, the English players and coaching staff had to endure boos from their own fans. Regardless of their commanding lead in the World Cup qualifiers, the mood in the home of soccer seems tense. According to The Times, Tuchel must now “face the big questions,” while The Sun writes of “a humiliating defeat.”
And how does the coach himself view the current situation? First of all, he made it clear that he was “the first” to be annoyed about such a result. It had been a “tough lesson,” and at times the players had looked “frozen” in his view. At least Tuchel was satisfied with the “reaction” after the 1-2 goal, but not with the result itself, of course.
The 51-year-old believes that it would be excessive to sound the alarm at this stage: “We lost a friendly, so there’s no reason to panic. We’ve played three qualifying games, picked up nine points and didn’t concede a goal – and we’ll be competitive in September” when the next competitive games against Andorra and Serbia come around.
Tuchel reiterated that there is still a whole year to go before the World Cup. Until then, “the nomination process” and the demands on the players will become increasingly “competitive.”
