England experienced their first loss under manager Thomas Tuchel, also marking their initial defeat against an African national team.
Despite taking an early lead courtesy of Harry Kane, Senegal mounted a comeback, scoring goals just before and after the halftime interval in the friendly held at the City Ground.
Crystal Palace forward Ismaila Sarr netted the equalizer just before the break.
Following that, Habib Diarra found the back of the net, beating Dean Henderson from a narrow angle.
Jude Bellingham thought he had secured a late leveling goal.
However, the close-range finish was disallowed after a VAR review identified a handball by Levi Colwill during the build-up phase.
Subsequently, a rapid Senegal counter-attack was finished off by Cheikh Sabaly deep in injury time.
Thus, after the uninspiring 1-0 win against Andorra, England concluded the season with further disappointment, approximately a year and a day before the next World Cup.
Here is an assessment of the Three Lions players` performances:
Dean Henderson: 6
Making only his third appearance for England, the Crystal Palace goalkeeper produced several commendable stops in the initial half. His best save was against a header from his club teammate, Ismaila Sarr. However, he was unable to prevent Sarr`s equalizer just before halftime. He might feel he could have performed better on Senegal`s second goal, being beaten from a tight angle.
Kyle Walker: 3
This match was Walker`s 96th international cap, but his subpar performance puts his future in the team under scrutiny. Apart from delivering a decent cross for Anthony Gordon, Walker appeared rusty, struggling with his control and seeming unusually slow. Sarr`s ease in outpacing him for the equalizer suggested that time may finally be affecting the 35-year-old veteran defender.
Trevoh Chalobah: 6
An acceptable performance on his England debut, facing off against his Chelsea clubmate Nicolas Jackson. Chalobah was caught out for the equalizing goal, with Jackson managing to get past him before setting up Sarr. His appearance meant that he and his brother Nathaniel are only the third pair of siblings to have represented England since the beginning of the 20th century.
Levi Colwill: 4
A challenging night for the Chelsea player on his fifth cap. A loose pass was intercepted by Jackson early in the second half, serving as a warning. He failed to stay with Habib Diarra as the midfielder raced onto a long ball from former Blues player Kalidou Koulibaly before slotting it past Henderson. His handball incident also resulted in Jude Bellingham’s late equalizer being disallowed after a VAR review.
Myles Lewis-Skelly: 5
He was not positioned correctly when Koulibaly’s long ball reached England’s left-back area for the second goal. Other than that, he made few significant errors but also didn`t particularly stand out, showing limited forward runs into the midfield. However, given he is only 18, his typically impressive contributions likely made this performance appear less impactful by comparison. This was his third cap.
Conor Gallagher: 5
A mixed performance for the Atletico Madrid midfielder, who is one of four England players heading to the Club World Cup. He was outpaced by Iliman Ndiaye early in the match, chose not to pass to a clearly available Anthony Gordon, and was fortunate to avoid a caution for a tackle on Sarr. However, he did play a role in setting up Gordon’s shot which led to Kane’s opening goal.
Declan Rice: 5
Displayed some loose passing, perhaps understandable in the final match of a demanding and somewhat frustrating season. Regardless of his performance here, Rice is expected to be an automatic starter in central midfield next summer. The main question is who will be his midfield partner.
