Gareth Southgate’s team defeated the Lions of Teranga 3-0, basically winning the match in the first eight minutes.
The night finished with the European country extending that record to eight. Senegal taking on England was regarded as Africa’s chance to halt the Three Lions’ seven-game unbeaten streak against sides from the continent.
The 1966 world champions had won five of their previous seven games, and after defeating Aliou Cisse’s squad 3-0 at Al Bayt Stadium, that total increased to six.
After 38 minutes, Jordan Henderson gave the Three Lions the lead, and Harry Kane doubled their advantage just before halftime with a goal that was a true kick in the teeth. Senegal had an opportunity to tie the score after the break by entering halftime 1-0 behind. However, Cisse’s team talk was changed after the Lions of Teranga fell down 2-0 and they were left with too much to do.
An England team that at times played through their opponents with ease and could have scored more if they had not eased off after Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 highlighted the limitations of the African champions.
The Three Lions continued a streak in Qatar in which they allowed attempts in open play below an Expected Goal (xG) of 1.0 against Iran, the United States of America, and Wales. On the other end, Southgate’s team allowed just one shot on target throughout the entire match, totaling to Expected Goals (xG) of 0.80.
Could the outcome of the game have been different on a night when Africa’s best team was trounced if better decisions had been taken or if individual players had better performances?
“Bad Koulibaly” has reappeared
The Senegal captain’s performance was defined by the first few minutes, and he never recovered as England sporadically dominated the Lions of Teranga.
Koulibaly’s half was marked by missed tackles and interceptions, and he frequently asked his teammates to move across on the cover because he appeared to take an extra half-yard to reclaim possession.
The Chelsea player occasionally appeared to play offside and became enraged when the linesman did not flag following that action. He was unaware of Harry Kane’s position to his rear and the departure of his center-back partner Abdou Diallo at the time.
The former Napoli defender’s inconsistent passing, which included leaving passes short or hitting them too hard, did not help.
It was frustrating how carelessly Koulibaly handled the ball, and his flagrant defensive mistakes when he was not in possession highlighted his terrible performance.
The captain of Senegal had a terrible 90 minutes, which was rounded off by his yellow card with 15 minutes remaining for an unnecessary tackle on Kane.
On the night the Lions were eliminated from the World Cup finals in Qatar, Koulibaly was largely to blame for the team’s first knockout game in 20 years.
