Rico Lewis is set to make his England debut against North Macedonia on Monday at the age of just 18.
With England having already secured a place at Euro 2024, as well as top of the group, Gareth Southgate has decided to hand Lewis his maiden cap, becoming the second-youngest Manchester City player to play for the Three Lions behind Micah Richards.
The youngster will start at left-back in a four-man defence with a centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Marc Guehi, while his club team-mate Kyle Walker will captain the side at right-back.
Lewis will be keen to impress, with left-back a potentially problematic position for Southgate with Euro 2024 around the corner. Luke Shaw has been a mainstay for England but has missed the last three months with injury, while Ben Chilwell has also struggled for fitness.
Elsewhere for England, Ollie Watkins gets the chance to impress from the start as captain Harry Kane is named as a substitute, while Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish both return to the starting XI having come off the bench in the underwhelming 2-0 win over Malta at Wembley Stadium on Friday.
Arriving ahead of his #ThreeLions debut 🦁 pic.twitter.com/uPN2YqHw3g
— England (@England) November 20, 2023
Trent Alexander-Arnold again starts in midfield as he looks to adapt to that role and stake a claim to make the Euro 2024 squad, and he will play alongside the returning Declan Rice in midfield.
Cole Palmer made his debut against Malta but drops to the bench, while Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa will be desperate to get on the field and win his maiden cap for England.
