Friendly Match

Jun 10, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

The City Ground

England vs Senegal

Match preview

England are still in the early stages of their new era under Tuchel, who officially took over from Gareth Southgate at the beginning of the year.

He began his tenure with back-to-back home victories in the March international window, following a 2-0 win over Albania with a 3-0 victory against Latvia, taking maximum points from their first two World Cup qualifiers.

The Three Lions added three more points to their tally in Saturday's away clash with Andorra. However, the narrow 1-0 scoreline and poor performance attracted significant criticism.

Harry Kane's goal in the 50th minute proved to be all England could muster against a team ranked 173rd in the world. After the match, Tuchel admitted that his team had "lacked urgency and seriousness" in the final half hour at the RCDE Stadium.

Although Tuchel was frustrated, he can take comfort in becoming the first England manager to achieve three consecutive victories without conceding. This puts the Three Lions top of Group K, and they will resume their qualifying bid with a home game against Andorra in September.

England are now preparing for their first match at the City Ground since playing Wales in a wartime friendly in 1941. The hosts will be hoping to secure a seventh consecutive victory since their surprise home defeat to Greece in the UEFA Nations League in October.

Senegal are currently enjoying a 23-game unbeaten run in all internationals (W16, D6), although they lost to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations final.

This run includes six games from last year's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, in which they dropped just two points on their way to securing their place at the December tournament.

Pape Thiaw's team started 2025 with a goalless draw against Sudan in the World Cup qualifiers. They then recorded a 2–0 home win against Togo, leaving them in second place, one point behind group leaders DR Congo, with four matches remaining.

Senegal will resume their quest for a third consecutive World Cup appearance in September, but are currently preparing for a friendly against England after drawing 1–1 with the Republic of Ireland on Friday.

It looked like the Lions of Teranga were heading for defeat in Dublin until Ismaila Sarr, who plays for Crystal Palace, scored a late equaliser to cancel out Kasey McAteer's opener. The 1-1 draw means Senegal have not conceded more than one goal in a single game for 25 matches.

On Tuesday, they will hope that their strong defence can inspire them to their first ever win against England, having lost 2–0 in their only previous meeting in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

Recent Performance

England form (all competitions):WWWWW

Senegal form (all competitions):DLDLD

Team News

England will be unable to call upon Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who withdrew from the squad prior to the victory over Andorra due to a minor injury.

Several changes are expected to the side that started against Andorra, which could result in starting opportunities for Dean Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon.

Tuchel has confirmed that Bukayo Saka will start on Tuesday, having recovered from the injury that prevented him from being included in Saturday's matchday squad. The England manager could also give Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah the chance to make his first international appearance.

The visitors are without Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, who is unavailable due to a muscle problem. Former Liverpool forward Sadio Mané is unavailable for selection as he has asked to be left out of the squad for personal reasons.

Edouard Mendy is expected to play in goal, while Kalidou Koulibaly and Moussa Niakhate could start in central defence. Idrissa Gueye, Lamine Camara, Ismaila Sarr and Nicolas Jackson are also expected to be in the starting lineup on Tuesday.

Possible starting lineup

England possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Alexander-Arnold, Chalobah, Colwill, Lewis-Skelly; Bellingham, Rice; Saka, Eze, Gordon; Kane

Senegal possible starting lineup:

Mendy; Mendy, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Jakobs; Sarr, Gueye, Camara; Diatta, Ndiaye, Jackson