Myles Lewis-Skelly celebrated his England debut with a goal and a historic achievement.
The Arsenal full-back scored the first goal against Albania on his first appearance for the senior national team.
At the age of 18 years and 176 days, he became the youngest player ever to score in their first England match.
Lewis-Skelly surpassed the record previously held by his teammate Marcus Rashford, who scored at 18 years and 209 days against Australia in May 2016.
Rashford, 27, also made his first international appearance in a year in England’s World Cup qualifying opener.
Lewis-Skelly’s goal was the first under Thomas Tuchel’s management as England boss, succeeding Sir Gareth Southgate.
Tuchel praised Lewis-Skelly, highlighting the limited left-back options.
He mentioned, “With recent injuries, including Lewis Hall’s, we lacked left-footed players for the left-back position.”
“We’ve been consistently impressed with Myles’s rapid progress. He’s become a regular player for Arsenal, currently the second-best team in the country, and Champions League quarter-finalists. The competition at his club is immense, yet Mikel Arteta regularly selects him, which is very impressive from the outset.”
ITV pundits Ian Wright and Roy Keane also spoke highly of the young player.
Wright commented, “It was a good goal, in fact, an excellent goal, considering its origin.”
Keane added, “The movement, you have to take risks in this game. I thought it was an absolutely brilliant goal.”
“The pass, the weight of the pass, the timing of the run, and the finish from the full-back, it was absolutely fantastic.”
Lewis-Skelly admitted he anticipated a call-up from Tuchel but humorously mistook his new manager for Uber Eats.
He recounted to Declan Rice and Dan Burn, “I was on the phone with my friend the day before the big announcement.”
“Then I received a call from an unknown number, so I told my friend, ‘I’ve got to call you back, let me take this call’.”
“I hung up and answered in my best voice, ready for important news. But the person on the line said, ‘We’ve got your food, it’s outside’.”
“It was Uber Eats for my mum.”
Rice and Burn found the story hilarious, but Lewis-Skelly added, “I was just overjoyed, running around the house.”
“It was a great moment for me and my family. I was incredibly happy because it’s such a significant step and a major achievement.”
Harry Kane secured a 2-0 victory in what was a truly memorable debut for Lewis-Skelly.
