England’s captain, Harry Kane, has stressed the need for immediate improvement if the team hopes to compete at next year’s World Cup, following a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Senegal in a home friendly on Tuesday night.
This marked England’s first loss to an African nation, placing additional pressure on manager Thomas Tuchel, who has just begun his tenure after only four matches.
After a narrow 1-0 victory over Andorra in World Cup qualifying last Saturday, Tuchel implemented ten changes but saw little positive outcome as Senegal claimed a well-deserved win in Nottingham, with goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra, and Cheikh Sabaly.
“Our performance wasn’t good enough. We had some promising moments, but things aren’t coming together, whether we have the ball or not,” Kane remarked, having netted his 73rd international goal to open the scoring.
“We’ve lost the aggressive edge we used to have.”
Tuchel, previously of Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain, was brought in with the goal of leading England to greater heights after the team fell short in the last two European Championship finals.
Kane acknowledged that the squad is currently undergoing a transition since Gareth Southgate’s departure post-Euro 2024, but emphasised the urgency to rectify issues with the World Cup only a year away.
“We’re not panicking, but we understand that we need to improve,” the Bayern Munich striker stated.
“With new ideas coming in and the integration of players lacking international experience, it’s a complex situation, but we can’t use that as an excuse.
“We need to turn things around quickly, as the World Cup is approaching fast and every training camp is crucial right now.”
On a positive note, England remains in a strong position for qualification, having won all three of their qualifiers so far against Albania, Latvia, and Andorra.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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