England player ratings in awful Senegal defeat: Bright Eze, busy Henderson, poor Walker

The England players look ready for the season to end – and thankfully for most of them, it now has, after another underwhelming performance in Tuesday’s friendly defeat to Senegal.

Yes, they’re tired, and ultimately it’s a nothing match for them and everything for the opposition – but there’s no excuse for a performance like that. A display so disjointed is enough to make you wonder whether Thomas Tuchel really is the man for the job. This was England’s first ever defeat to an African nation, and in truth, the 3-1 scoreline flattered them.

Senegal showed they’re no slouches at the City Ground. They’re ranked 19th in the world for a reason and are now unbeaten in 24 games, with their last defeat coming against Algeria in September 2023. They drew 1-1 in Ireland last week and faced an England side who had already looked flat in a laboured 1-0 win over Andorra.

Tuchel wanted a reaction, starting Eberechi Eze alongside Harry Kane in what looked suspiciously like a 4-4-f**king-2. England scored early through Kane, but it was against the run of play – and as good as it got. Here are our player ratings…

Dean Henderson
The England goalkeeper was far busier than expected, especially in the first half. All of his saves were ones you’d expect him to make, but that didn’t lessen their importance. The first came with his left foot to deny Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson after Iliman Ndiaye breezed past Myles Lewis-Skelly and Conor Gallagher. A smart save from Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr summed up England’s poor defending on the night.

We’ll say Henderson probably should’ve done better with Habib Diarra’s goal, but he wasn’t exactly at fault.

Kyle Walker
A dangerous low cross should have resulted in an Anthony Gordon goal, though it was flicked en route by Eberechi Eze.

What Walker did at the other end of the pitch was more significant; he gave Senegal left-back Malick Diouf far too much time and space to whip in a series of teasing crosses. Bukayo Saka was partly to blame too, offering little support down the right. For Senegal’s equaliser, Walker was labelled “lazy” by Roy Keane as Ismaila Sarr nipped in. He clearly wasn’t concentrating, and Keane’s verdict that he “couldn’t be bothered” felt damning but fair.

Walker did redeem himself with some simple but important defending after the break, looking more switched on in the second half. Still, it’s abundantly clear he shouldn’t be playing for England, and sentimental call-ups just to reach 100 caps need to stop.

Trevoh Chalobah
A proud night for Chalobah on his full international debut, but definitely not the result he would have hoped for. He should’ve been more alert for Senegal’s equaliser – perhaps assuming the ball was going out of play – but Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Jackson didn’t give up, kept it alive, and put it into the box. Sarr reacted quickest, and England’s lead was gone.

Levi Colwill
Booked in the 30th minute for a late, clumsy foul on Nicolas Jackson – also his Chelsea team-mate – and it was thoroughly deserved. He later got away with one under pressure from Jackson again, passing the ball straight into his studs before breathing a sigh of relief as it bounced kindly towards Dean Henderson.

Now then, that assist he was denied by VAR. Shambles. The first shambles is having VAR in an international friendly. Seriously, what jobsworth thought that was a good idea? FFS.

The ball struck his upper arm – aas it intentional? We don’t think so. Colwill was being grabbed and essentially spun into the ball, twisting mid-air as he challenged for a header. But the unintentional ricochet was enough for Stephanie Frappart to go to the monitor and disallow Jude Bellingham’s late equaliser. Nonsense.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (off for Toney, 88th minute)
It wasn’t his night. All three Arsenal players – Lewis-Skelly, Bukayo Saka, and Declan Rice – looked tired and ready for the season to be over, which it finally is for them after a gruelling 2024/25 campaign.

Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye caused Lewis-Skelly early problems down the left, and for Senegal’s winning goal, the left-back was caught too far wide, leaving a huge gap that Habib Diarra exploited. To be fair to the teenager, Krepin Diatta was hugging the touchline and was his man at that moment. It was Morgan Gibbs-White who let Diarra burst through, though you could argue covering that space wasn’t really his responsibility.

Bukayo Saka (off for Madueke, 71st minute)
It was his first start under Tuchel, but he still didn’t look quite sharp. A miscontrol led to England losing possession, and shortly after, Senegal equalised.

Saka should have scored but was denied by an outstanding save from Edouard Mendy.

Declan Rice (off for Bellingham, 71st minute)
It was far too easy for Lamine Camara to slip between the lines in the 4-4-2, with Rice’s pressing often ill-timed. He also nearly paid the price for two poor touches in the 68th minute.

Conor Gallagher (off for Jones, 59th minute)
Gallagher was beginning to grow into the game just before being replaced by Liverpool’s Curtis Jones. He showed some tenacity but overall, it was hardly a positive night for him.

Anthony Gordon (off for Gibbs-White, 59th minute)
His shot was parried into danger by Mendy and tapped in by Kane to open the scoring, against the run of play. He looked dangerous the only time he went one-on-one with Senegal right-back Krepin Diatta.

That sitter, however, was a crucial moment that’s been largely overlooked amid England’s overall disappointing performance.

Eberechi Eze
England’s brightest starter by a country mile. Crystal Palace’s FA Cup hero won the ball back with a tackle in Senegal’s defensive third for Harry Kane’s opener. He was then denied an assist when Anthony Gordon somehow missed an open goal at the back post, getting a faint touch on Kyle Walker’s low cross.

After Kane was substituted in the 59th minute, Eze assumed playmaking duties, which probably should have been his from the start. He more or less took the game by the scruff of the neck and was central to any free-flowing England football, linking up nicely with substitute Morgan Gibbs-White.

One attempted assist for Gibbs-White was out of this world: Eze backheeled a bouncing ball in the air when he could’ve taken the shot himself. It had to be a goal, but the effort was straight at Edouard Mendy, who made amends for assisting Kane’s goal for 1-0 with some smart second-half saves.

Harry Kane (off for Rogers, 59th minute)
Couldn’t miss – an easy tap-in for goal number 73 for England (not that any of them count). His quarterback pass to isolate Diatta for Gordon was outstanding.

England looked more dangerous going forward after he came off, but they didn’t find the net again.

Curtis Jones (on for Gallagher, 59th minute)
All three 59th-minute subs were instantly involved. Jones wasted a decent chance from the edge of the box – he skied it and should have done better.

Unfortunately, the Liverpool midfielder also gave the ball away for Senegal’s third goal, allowing the determined visitors to seal the game.

Morgan Gibbs-White (on for Gordon, 59th minute)
Played on the left and, as mentioned, was caught asleep for Senegal’s second though, to be fair, it was a brilliant Kalidou Koulibaly assist combined with a positive Diarra run.

He should have equalised himself, denying Eze an outrageous backheel assist. The fact that pass didn’t register as an assist is more devastating than the missed chance to make it 2-2.

Gibbs-White made an instant impact in the position he plays at club level, linking up nicely with Eze and causing Senegal plenty of problems.

Morgan Rogers (on for Kane, 59th minute)
Was alarmingly quiet compared to Gibbs-White and Jones. He seemed to be England’s focal point until Ivan Toney’s overdue introduction.

Noni Madueke (on for Saka, 71st minute)
Can’t afford to be tired with the Club World Cup with Chelsea on the horizon. Tried a few pieces of skill but couldn’t break the Senegal defence down. His 93rd-minute free-kick delivery summed up England’s performance and not long after, Senegal made it three.

Jude Bellingham (on for Rice, 71st minute)
Immediately lost possession, allowing Jackson to test Henderson with a low long-range effort.

Bellingham thought he equalised late on with an instinctive close-range volley that left Mendy with no chance. We’ve already said our piece on that moment and won’t get worked up again.

Ivan Toney (on for Lewis-Skelly, 88th minute)
Missed a half chance at the back post with seconds to go. Should have been on much, much earlier – and looked fizzing sitting on the bench while Madueke received instructions right beside him.

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