(Reuters) -New head coach Thomas Tuchel handed Arsenal’s teenaged left back Myles Lewis-Skelly and Newcastle United defender Dan Burn their England debuts against Albania at Wembley in the country’s opening 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, currently on loan at Aston Villa, returns to the team a year after his last cap as Tuchel named his first starting lineup.
The 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly has impressed for Arsenal this season while Burn, 32, was the hero of Newcastle’s League Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday, scoring the opening goal in their 2-1 victory.
Rashford’s return to the England starting lineup completes a remarkable turnaround for the forward who fell out of favour at United but has since rekindled his form at Villa.
His 60th and most recent England cap came one year ago as a substitute against Brazil in a friendly.
England were drawn in Group K with Albania, Andorra, Latvia and Serbia.
They face Latvia on Monday.
Former Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach Tuchel is taking charge of his first game having been appointed last October and beginning his 18-month contract in January.
England: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Curtis Jones, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Harry Kane.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in GdanskEditing by Toby Davis)
