Thomas Tuchel has reacted to becoming the first England manager in history to lose to an African nation.
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Tuesday evening marked a historic night not only for Senegalese football but African football in general, as the Lions of Teranga became the first team from the continent to beat the Three Lions in their 155-year history.
The victory was all the more sweet for the West African outfit as it happened on English soil. While it was a phenomenal triumph for Pape Thiaw's charges, it also brought an unwanted record for Tuchel so early in his England career. The former Bayern Munich boss, however, has stated that the defeat serves as a wake-up call for the team.
“We have three qualification games, we have nine points, we have not conceded and we will be competitive in September and we will go for two more victories, 100%. We know more now, we are smarter. It is tough at the moment.
“I am the first one to dislike and hate losses but we don’t go next week, we go in one year and I think by nature it will get more competitive in the nomination process and in the demands for players to be nominated and to be with us in September, October, November because we are in a World Cup season,” Tuchel said after the match, as per The Guardian.
The German tactician also noted that he could sense how much the victory meant to the Senegalese, having heard their celebrations in the locker room after the match.
“Now we go into a long break with a bad feeling and a loss which is simply not nice and not what we wanted. I will never be glad for a loss. I’m glad for a tough test and challenges. We wanted to feel the quality of a top-20 team and we felt their quality.
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“We felt what it means to them. I heard them in the dressing room before the match, I heard them in the dressing room after the match so I know how much it means to them to play against us. How much joy they expressed if they make this happen.”
