The 10 Youngest Players To Make Their England Debut As 18-Year-Old Myles Lewis-Skelly Receives First Senior Call-Up

Who are the youngest players to make their England senior debut in history? That is the question being asked after 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly received his first senior Three Lions call-up.

Lewis-Skelly has enjoyed an excellent breakthrough season at Arsenal making 25 appearances for the Gunners.

New naming him as part of his first 26-man team selection.

The teenager could receive his first cap when England play Albania and Latvia in this month’s World Cup qualifiers.

Should Lewis-Skelly make his debut in either of those two games, he would just miss out on the top 10 for the youngest players to ever represent England at senior level. As of March 14, Lewis-Skelly is 18 years and 169 days old.

It would put him 11th in the list, ahead of Manchester United legend Duncan Edwards, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.

Here, SportsCasting takes a look at the 10 youngest players to make their debut for England.

The 10 Youngest Players To Make Their England Debut

10 – Micah Richards (18 Years And 144 Days)

Micah Richards famously burst onto the scene at a young age with Manchester City.

He was called up to the England senior squad for the first time in November 2006 after just 28 first-team appearances for his club.

Richards made his debut under Steve McLaren against the Netherlands after regular right-back Gary Neville was ruled out with injury.

He received plenty of plaudits for his performance in the 1-1 draw. However, he was frozen out of the squad by Fabio Capello and would only make 13 appearances.

9 – Callum Hudson-Odoi (18 Years and 135 Days)

The Nottingham Forest had made 22 senior appearances for Chelsea before he received his first senior England call-up by Gareth Southgate in March 2019.

He made his debut in a 5-0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

Hudson-Odoi only has three senior England caps but his form for Nottingham Forest this season has put him back in the mix for a potential future call-up.

Though ninth in this list, he does hold the record for the youngest player to make their England debut in a competitive game.

8 – Michael Owen – (18 Years And 59 Days)

Michael Owen exploded onto the scene with Liverpool and made his senior England debut against Chile in February 1998.

It was at that summer’s World Cup where he became a superstar. He became the youngest player to score for England at a major tournament against Tunisia before his stunning solo effort against Argentina caught the world’s attention.

Owen was capped 89 times for England and scored 40 goals – putting him sixth on the all-time scorers list.

There is an argument that he could be top of that list if injuries didn’t plague him throughout his career.

On this day in 1998 Michael Owen made his England debut vs Chile at 18 years and 59 days.

4 months later he was starting in the World Cup vs Argentina

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿pic.twitter.com/Gi3damIoFM

— Vintage Football Shirts (@VFshirts) February 11, 2024

7 – Clement Mitchell (18 Years and 24 Days)

Clement Mitchell is one of three players on this list that you more than likely won’t recognise. All three made their England debut well over a century ago.

His debut came against Wales in March 1880 and three years later he scored a hat-trick against the Welsh.

Mitchell, who played for an amateur side called Upton Park, scored five goals in five caps for England.

6 – Raheem Sterling (17 Years And 342 Days)

Raheem Sterling made his senior England debut in November 2012 after just 20 first-team appearances with Liverpool.

It came in the 4-2 defeat to Sweden – which is famous for Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring all four goals including a sensational overhead kick well outside his box.

He would become a regular in the Three Lions squad for the next decade, scoring 20 goals in 82 appearances.

Sterling, now at Arsenal on loan from Chelsea, hasn’t played for England since the 2022 World Cup.

5 – Thurston Rostron (17 Years And 311 Days)

Thurston Rostron made his England debut aged 17 against Wales in February 1881.

Rostron, who played for Blackburn Rovers, made just two appearances for England against home nations rivals Wales and Scotland.

At the time, he was the second youngest player to make their England debut.

4 – James Prinsep (17 Years And 252 Days)

The last player on this list that you likely won’t recognise is James Prinsep who held the record for the youngest player to make their England debut for 124 years.

His one and only appearance came against Scotland in 1879.

Prinsep played for Clapham Rovers and once held the record for being the youngest FA Cup final player.

3 – Jude Bellingham (17 Years And 136 Days)

Jude Bellingham was a late call-up to the England squad in November 2020 after James Ward-Prowse pulled out with an injury.

He became England’s third youngest debutant when he replaced Mason Mount after 73 minutes in England’s 3-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.

The following summer he would go on to become the youngest Englishman to play at a major tournament and the youngest of any nationality to play at the European Championship.

At the age of 21, Bellingham already has 40 caps to his name. Unless there’s any sudden downfall or he becomes unlucky with injuries, he will likely finish in the top 10 for all-time England caps.

2 – Wayne Rooney (17 Years And 111 Days)

The Manchester United legend earned his first cap in a friendly defeat against Australia in February 2003.

He would go on to break more records including the youngest player to score for England, and the youngest to score for the Three Lions at a major competition at Euro 2004.

the name…#OnThisDay in 2003, a 17-year-old @WayneRooney made his @England debut 🦁

119 more appearances and 53 goals followed, to establish him as his nation's leading goalscorer 🙌⚽️ pic.twitter.com/dDw4fZVwrF

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) February 12, 2020

Wayne Rooney would represent England for 15 years, making 120 caps which puts him second on the all-time list behind Peter Shilton (125).

He is also second on England’s all-time scoring list with 53, 16 behind Harry Kane who holds the record.

1 – Theo Walcott (17 Years and 75 Days)

That leaves Theo Walcott as the youngest player to ever make their England debut – a record that is unlikely to be topped anytime soon.

He famously was called up to the 2006 World Cup squad after only making 21 appearances in the Championship for Southampton.

17y 75d – Theo Walcott is the youngest player to play for England, appearing aged 17 years and 75 days in a friendly against Hungary in May 2006. Cub. pic.twitter.com/yVtwsVrbk7

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 14, 2019

Walcott made his debut during a pre-tournament friendly against Hungary and didn’t play at the World Cup. The decision by Sven Goran-Eriksson to include him over the likes of Jermain Defoe was heavily criticised at the time.

As per the Mirror, Sven said that Defoe had a ‘bad season’ and that bringing in Walcott despite his lack of Premier League experience was ‘the right decision’.

The former Arsenal star did go on to make 47 appearances for England in which he scored eight goals.