Thomas Tuchel has been forced into a late change to his latest England squad, calling up a surprise replacement for an injured star.
Tuchel has preferred to stick primarily with the same squad from his last camp for upcoming games against Wales and Latvia, the latter of which is a World Cup qualifier.
That meant Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Adam Wharton were all overlooked for the fixtures.
The squad was announced and explained by Tuchel on Friday but the German has brought in a new face after it was confirmed that Chelsea’s Reece James had pulled out of the squad with an injury.On Monday morning, Manchester City and England announced that Nico O’Reilly has earned his first senior call-up after an excellent run of form this season.The academy product, a midfielder by trade, has been converted to a left-back by Pep Guardiola and churned in a series of superb performances in the position.
The 20-year-old has made nine appearances in all competitions this season, with City unbeaten in all of the games where O’Reilly has started.
After making the left-back position his own following on from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s injury, O’Reilly was rewarded for his fine form with a new City contract until 2030 and now makes the step-up to the England seniors from Lee Carsley’s Under 21’s.
O’Reilly has previously represented his country Under 15’s through to Under 20’s and joins club colleagues James Trafford and John Stones in the senior set-up.
He was pictured all smiles while arriving at St Georges’ Park, with England’s official X account writing, “Joining up with the #ThreeLions for the first time!”.
In a statement released, England said that James “sustained” an injury playing for Chelsea in the last-gasp 2-1 win over Liverpool at the weekend and has withdrawn following “medical assessments”.
O’Reilly made his City debut in the 2024 Community Shield and went on to make 21 appearances in an impressive breakthrough campaign last season, scoring five times.
He changed squad number going into his second season and has made seven consecutive starts in a row thanks to his terrific performances.
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