England vs Senegal: A Short but Historic Rivalry

England vs Senegal timeline in football is short but surprising at least for England. Of all the matches played against African nations, England never really faced the defeat against them except Senegal. Senegal beat England on English soil. The rivalry that never existed suddenly became the most interesting one to date.

Head-to-Head Stats: England vs Senegal

There is a balance between England and Senegal. They met twice. Both won one time. That’s all. 

Matches Played	England Wins	Senegal Wins	Draws	England Goals	Senegal Goals
2	1	1	0	3	3

Pretty even, right? But the context behind these two matches tells a much bigger story than the numbers suggest.

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When England Won Against Senegal Comfortably (2022 World Cup)

The first meet was at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in qatar.
England and Senegal squared off in the Round of 16 at the Al Bayt Stadium on december 4th. England, the Three Lions, planned this win well and nothing went out of it. 

England had a 3-0 victory. There wasn’t any doubt. Jordan Henderson opened the scoring. Harry Kane added another. Bukayo Saka wrapped it all up.

Clinical, professional, and what that’s what professionals do. Sadio Mané had an injury before the tournament. 

Date	Venue	Competition	Result	Scorers	Attendance
Dec 4, 2022	Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar	World Cup R16	England 3-0 Senegal	Henderson, Kane, Saka	65,985

For England, it was the usual business. They got into the quarterfinals and kept up with their record against Senegal. It was just another win in the long list of wins for England. 

Senegal Changed Everything (2025 Friendly)

Fast forward to June 10, 2025. England hosted Senegal at The City Ground in Nottingham.

It was supposed to be a straightforward friendly right before the Nations League. Thomas Tuchel was at the beginning of his early England career with three wins from three matches. The home crowd cheered and expected the same.

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But it turned upside down.

Date	Venue	Competition	Final Score	Attendance	Man of the Match
June 10, 2025	The City Ground, Nottingham	Friendly	England 1-3 Senegal	29,846	Ismaïla Sarr

England had a bright start. Harry Kane scored in the 7th minute. Everything was under control.

Senegal had other plans. Ismaïla Sarr equalised just before halftime. The game after tat completely started to feel different. 

In the second half, the visitors with Habi Diarra put his team ahead in the 62nd minute. Tuchel tried but the team brought on Jude Bellingham to switch formations. More attackers from England were thrown forward. But the response was not there. 

The drama rose in the 84th minute with Benllingham thinking h had scored an equaliser. While the City Ground rose in excitement, and Levi Colwill handled the ball in the buildup and the goal was chalked off. With three minutes into stoppage time, Cheikh Sabaly finished off England on the counter-attack. That made it 3 – 1. 

The game minute by minute unfolded like this. 

Minute	Event	Player	Team
7′	Goal	Harry Kane	England
40′	Goal	Ismaïla Sarr	Senegal
44′	Yellow Card	Kyle Walker	England
62′	Goal	Habib Diarra	Senegal
71′	Substitution	Bellingham & Madueke on	England
84′	Goal (VAR disallowed)	Jude Bellingham	England
90+3′	Goal	Cheikh Sabaly	Senegal

Breaking a 21-Game Streak; Senegal beats England

The loss for England was not just any loss. Senegal became the first African nation to ever beat the Three Lions.

England before this played 21 games against African nations and never lost. There has been 15 wins and 6 draws in nearly one century. 

So you see, the loss for England wasn’t that easily digested.

Category	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost
vs African teams (pre-June 2025)	21	15	6	0

The loss hit differently because it happened at home. This wasn’t any neutral World Cup venue. The City Ground with English fans and getting beaten was unexpected. It was Tuichel’s first defeat as England manager. That ended his perfect start in the worst possible way. 

England’s Reaction After Defeat 

Thomas Tuchel did not mince his words. He admitted that his team got frozen and criticised how they lost goals. He mentioned to reporters that they weren’t active and was not very happy with the reaction from his players as there are bigger matches up on the horizon later. 

Harry Kane with his perfect start did mention to reporters that the team was not exactly able to click during that match. The disallowed goal of Bellingham was a controversy Kane added while speaking with reporters but he was careful not to say much. 

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The disappointment was there among the English players and fans, as it was assumed by all that this match too would be a friendly win and a routine for the Three Lions. 

Senegal, on the other side, celebrated like they won a trophy. The ‘Lions of Terenga’ made history. The teamwork in the second half showed the world why they are one of Africa’s best teams.

Senegal vs England in the Future

Two matches are still too low to comment anything. But this is a great start for an interesting chapter to shape in the timelines of both. England learned the hard way that they cannot take the friendlies for granted with anyone. African teams, like Senegal, are doing their due diligence with competition. 

Senegal has come close before by competing well at World Cups but beating the senior teams like this one takes a lot of effort and that makes for a top international teams out there. 

The head-to-head records of England vs Senegal might be tied at 1 – 1, but there is the psychological outlook has shifted in the teams and among the fans. Now anything that comes after, will be high-stakes attached. 

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