Rico Lewis has been called up to England's senior squad for the Nations League clash with Czech Republic on Tuesday, his first selection in two years.
The Manchester City full-back, 21, has been promoted from Lee Carsley's under-21s squad, whom he helped secure qualification for next year's Euros. Lewis has five senior caps but won the last of those in November 2024, and this is his first big chance under current boss Thomas Tuchel.
Versatile option for Tuchel
Lewis can play both full-back roles and has also featured in midfield. He gets his chance after City team-mate Nico O'Reilly went home injured from Croatia.
England's thumping seven-goal win in Croatia puts them in a strong position to qualify, and if they beat Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday it will be a huge step to reaching the latter stages.
Squad rotation and recovery
Tuchel has admitted that it will be difficult for players to start all the games, and calling up Lewis gives him more options. The Manchester City star played in the under-21s' 0-0 draw against Slovakia in Stoke on Friday night, a result which assured them of qualification for next summer's European Championship.
Lewis Hall and Jarell Quansah started the Croatia thrashing in the full-back positions, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Trent Alexander-Arnold also in the squad. O'Reilly played the full 90 minutes in England's 3-2 defeat by Spain but was absent from the squad that defeated the Czech Republic 2-0 in Prague. England had originally decided not to call up a replacement, but that stance has changed after the thrashing of Croatia.
England have been doing reformer pilates as part of their recovery after thrashing Croatia.
Tuchel on rotation
Tuchel spoke about his approach to squad rotation in the build-up to the first game against Czech Republic in Prague on Tuesday. "Why would I do this and start giving the players the impression that it's OK to take a step back or share a half or to rest one match?" he said. "I would never. It's madness. We want to win the next match. I would love not to rotate but I am not sure if it's possible. An ideal scenario would be to go again and go again and go again. With six or seven players minimum that start again – to put the responsibility on them and for them to feel the trust."
England started the three-week international break with five withdrawals from the original squad. Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento all pulled out, raising the issue of the fixture schedule once again.
Lewis has two goals in 12 appearances for the England under-21s and has featured three times across all competitions for Enzo Maresca's City this season. He's been an unused substitute in each of City's last four Premier League matches, with Josko Gvardiol preferred at left-back and Matheus Nunes at right-back.
