Senegal etched their name into the history books on Tuesday night with a remarkable 3–1 victory over England at the City Ground in Nottingham, becoming the first African team to defeat the Three Lions in 22 matches.
Despite falling behind early, Senegal—led by coach Pape Thiaw—showed tactical discipline, resilience, and attacking flair to turn the match around and secure a famous win.
England took the lead in the opening minutes through captain Harry Kane, who capitalized on a mistake from Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who failed to hold on to a shot by Anthony Gordon.
But the momentum shifted just before halftime when Ismaila Sarr rose to the occasion. The forward powered home a header from a tight angle to level the score, injecting confidence into the Senegalese side.
After the break, Senegal maintained their intensity and were rewarded when Habib Diarra fired them into the lead shortly after the hour mark. Diarra’s low shot, which slipped through Dean Henderson’s legs, proved decisive.
England pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but Mendy redeemed himself with a string of excellent saves—most notably a spectacular stop to deny Bukayo Saka. A potential lifeline for England was denied when a late goal was ruled out for handball.
In stoppage time, Cheikh Sabaly sealed the result for Senegal, calmly finishing off a swift counter-attack to make it 3–1.
This historic win not only ended England’s 21-game unbeaten run against African opponents but also extended Senegal’s own unbeaten streak, which stretches back to their penalty shootout loss to Ivory Coast in the AFCON 2024 round of 16.
With this milestone victory, Senegal continue to cement their status as one of Africa’s elite footballing nations.
