Nico O'Reilly has declared himself a big-game player and revealed England's plan to stop his Manchester City teammate Antoine Semenyo in the potentially decisive Group L clash against Ghana at the 2026 World Cup.
O'Reilly's Big-Game Mentality
O'Reilly enjoyed a breakout year with City, winning the Premier League young player of the season award. The 21-year-old only received his first senior England call-up in October, having previously been capped from Under-16 to U20 levels. Though a midfielder by trade, he was deployed as a left-back by Pep Guardiola and has started in that position for England at his first major tournament.
He started in the 4-2 win over Croatia last Wednesday and is in contention to start again when Thomas Tuchel's side face Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday.
Thriving Under Pressure
O'Reilly scored crucial goals for City, including the equaliser in a Champions League win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, the opener in a 3-0 title-race win at Chelsea, and both goals in the Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal. "I love a big occasion," O'Reilly said. "I think it brings more out of me when I am stepping up to the bigger stages, and I like playing under pressure. I feel like I thrive off it and just enjoy it."
He urged England to continue the high-intensity football from their first game, saying of the second-half performance against Croatia: "It felt like they couldn't breathe."
Future Position Uncertainty
Asked whether he has accepted being a full-time left-back, O'Reilly explained: "I think in the future I will be back in midfield. My profile, everything fits there and maybe a box-to-box midfielder. But left-back, I have been enjoying it and it has got me here now to a World Cup."
Stopping Semenyo
Ghana's most highly-rated player is London-born Antoine Semenyo, who joined O'Reilly at City in January after impressing for Bournemouth. "Antoine is a very good player," O'Reilly warned. "I've seen it firsthand in training and playing with him. I know Ghana are going to be very physical. If we play our game and we do what we did towards the end of the last game, I think we should be OK."
O'Reilly added: "[Semenyo] is very strong. He's always in the gym. He's a big lad, but he can't win the game by himself, so if we double up on him, we'll see. We've got a physical squad ourselves. Set pieces were a threat in the last game and I'm sure they [Ghana] will be looking at that."
