Wednesday’s football briefing: England booed off while Man City sign Cherki

England were booed off after a surprise 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal at the City Ground.

The Republic of Ireland were grateful for goalkeeper Max O’Leary in a goalless draw at Luxembourg, while 10-man Northern Ireland claimed a 1-0 win over Iceland.

Manchester City had another busy day in the transfer window while Tottenham are inching closer to an agreement with Brentford in their bid to appoint Thomas Frank as head coach.

Honeymoon over

Thomas Tuchel’s honeymoon period as England manager is over as boos greeted Tuesday’s shock 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal.

Three days after being jeered following a poor World Cup qualification win against minnows Andorra, the latest alarming display raised further questions a year out from their bid for glory in North America.

Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England’s first defeat to an African nation following captain Harry Kane’s early opener.

Kane told ITV: “Again, not really good enough. We’re not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better.”

Max efforts rescue Republic

Max O’Leary marked his long-awaited senior international debut with two vital saves to spare the Republic of Ireland’s blushes in Luxembourg.

The 28-year-old Bristol City keeper, who was first called up six years ago, denied Danel Sinani and substitute Vincent Thill either side of half-time to ensure Ireland emerged with a 0-0 friendly draw.

“You always use these games to get answers to questions,” Republic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said. “We got some answers – maybe more negative answers than positive from this.”

Price makes Iceland pay

Isaac Price made the difference at both ends of the pitch as 10-man Northern Ireland clung on for a 1-0 friendly win over Iceland in their final match before the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Price lit up a drab first half to put Michael O’Neill’s side ahead, but then had to head off his own line as it turned into a defensive scrap after Brodie Spencer was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

“I don’t think there’s too many players come in and play international football and adapt to it as quickly as Isaac has,” O’Neill said. “He has that ability just to do something a little bit different, a little bit special.”

City get Cherki deal

Manchester City have completed the signing of France midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon for an initial fee of 36million euros (£30.5m).

The 21-year-old, who has signed a contract with City until 2030, moves after an impressive season with Lyon in which he scored 12 goals and provided 20 assists in 40 appearances.

“This is a dream for me,” said Cherki after becoming City’s second signing of the day following goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. “I have worked so hard for this all my life.

“I would only leave Lyon for a project I really believe in and everything at City suggests I can develop my game and help the team be successful in the future.”

Tottenham face more Frank talks with Bees

Tottenham are moving closer to reaching an agreement with Brentford over compensation to make Frank their new head coach but talks are entering a third day, the PA news agency understands.

After positive initial talks over the weekend, Tottenham made an official approach to their Premier League rivals on Monday.

Discussions continued into Tuesday and centred on Frank’s contract at Brentford, which runs until the summer of 2027 and contains a release clause reported to be in the region of £10million.

What’s on today?

The European Under-21 Championship gets under way with hosts Slovakia taking on runners-up from two years ago Spain in Bratislava. Defending champions England start their campaign on Thursday.

Attention will also be focused on the outcome of Spurs’ talks with Frank, after the early window for player movement closed on Tuesday.

Published: 11/06/2025 by Radio NewsHub