Rico Lewis Earns England Recall as Tuchel Rewards Man City Star After Croatia Rout

Thomas Tuchel has handed Rico Lewis a route back into the England setup, promoting the Manchester City full-back from the Under-21s as a late replacement for the injured Nico O'Reilly ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Czechia at Wembley.

Opportunity knocks for Lewis

The 21-year-old has been drafted into the senior squad after his City teammate O'Reilly was forced out. O'Reilly missed Saturday's stunning 7-0 demolition of Croatia and has returned to Manchester for further assessment on what is understood to be a precautionary measure following a knock — Tuchel had vowed to "try everything" to get the left-back fit for the Croatia game, but it was not possible.

For Lewis, it is a first senior call-up in almost two years. The versatile defender has five caps to his name, the last of them coming in Greece in November 2024, before Tuchel took charge. His debut arrived back in November 2023 in the 1-1 draw with North Macedonia during Euro 2024 qualifying, and he featured four times across Lee Carsley's interim tenure.

He arrives in form at the right level, too. Lewis has been a key figure for the Young Lions during this break, helping them secure qualification for the 2027 Under-21 Euros in Albania and Serbia, and featuring in the 4-2 win over Kazakhstan and the 0-0 draw with Slovakia.

Tuchel's England flying

The timing could hardly be better for a player looking to impress. England were utterly ruthless on Saturday night, putting seven past Croatia in a statement Nations League victory. Lewis Hall got the nod at left-back in O'Reilly's absence before Myles Lewis-Skelly replaced him in the 79th minute, while Jarell Quansah started at right-back with Trent Alexander-Arnold rested on the bench.

Tuesday's clash with Czechia is the fourth and final match of the international break, and Tuchel is clearly keen to keep momentum rolling rather than experiment wildly. The German has shown he is not afraid to back youth — and Lewis, who can operate at right-back, left-back or in midfield, gives him valuable flexibility.

It is a short window to make an impression: one game, one training camp, one chance to remind Tuchel exactly what he can do. After nearly two years away from the senior side, Rico Lewis will not need telling twice.