Jackson sent off as Senegal draw Saudi Arabia in pre-World Cup friendly
By Luke Oluoch, June 10, 2026Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson endured a torrid experience, seeing a red card during Senegal’s 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New Jersey, USA.
The result continued a spate of inconsistent form for the African champions, who remained winless in their two friendly encounters ahead of the World Cup that kicks off on Thursday, June 11, 2026.
The team had slumped to a 3-2 loss to Mauricio Pochettino’s United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) in their opening friendly clash, with Sadio Mane’s double just short of assuring the African side a victory over one of the tournament co-hosts.
Other than the result by Papa Thiaw’s charges, the Chelsea man bore the brunt of the game following his dismissal barely 20 minutes after coming on for a couple of fouls in a space of two minutes.
The star, whose loan at Bayern Munich ended at the end of the current campaign, got sent off in the 83rd minute after clipping the heels of an opponent.
The red card sealed a miserable night for the striker, who had missed a golden chance, fluffing his line from inside the six-yard box from an amazing cross from the right. He also had zero shots, seven touches, and recorded only a single pass despite showing competitive effort with two tackles and four duels won.
The Africans were, however, the better team in the first half, averaging more in possession by 64 per cent as the Asian nation led in shots on target by four in relation to Senegal’s two.
Tough Group
Lions of Teranga, captained by Sadio Mane, will open their campaign.
They are among the ten African teams in the historical 2026 FIFA World Cup along with Algeria, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia.
Their work is cut out in a group consisting of former champions France, Iraq and European dark horses Norway, led by Arsenal midfielder Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland of Manchester City