Of the four newcomers in the squad, no player signifies the start of Lee Carsley’s new England revolution more so than Angel Gomes.
Not many fans will have watched the 5ft 6in midfielder in action, but Carsley saw enough of him for Lille in France to make him an integral part of his England Under-21 side that won the Euros last summer without conceding a goal.
The thinking behind his promotion to the seniors is clear enough.
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Carsley last week described Gomes as “different” in profile to most other central midfielders, while ex-Lille boss Paulo Fonseca said in April: “Angel is maybe the most intelligent player I have in my team.”
And Gomes himself, asked recently to reel off his positions, replied: “Left-wing, right-wing, No10, high No8, No6 and double-pivot.” Just as the U21s did, Carsley believes England’s seniors can reap the rewards.
When Gomes snubbed a contract extension offer from Manchester United and joined Lille in 2020 in search of more game time, he trusted he would “eventually create a pathway” to the top.
Via a loan spell, and a change of position, he did just that, and now hopes to make his England debut in the upcoming Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Gomes grew up in Edmonton in London to an Angolan-born father who played for Portugal at youth level but ended his career at Salford City and other non-league clubs, settling in Manchester.
Tipped for the top from an early age, Gomes was six when he joined United’s academy and was pictured next to his godfather Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo at Carrington. Marcus Rashford was his room-mate as an U12.
Gil Gomes never pushed his roots on his son, and once Angel had represented England U-16s in 2015, the dream to reach the seniors was born.
Gomes was the first player born in the 2000s to feature in the Premier League. When he replaced Wayne Rooney on the final day of the 2016-17 season, aged 16 years and 263 days, he became United’s youngest player since Duncan Edwards in 1953.
Later that year, he twice captained an England team featuring Phil Foden, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher that won the U-17 World Cup in India.
Regular minutes at United eluded him, and Gomes rejected a new contract in 2020 to join Lille, who immediately sent him out to Portuguese side Boavista on loan.
Gomes said on Wednesday that moving abroad was “very difficult”, but he adapted quickly, capping his Boavista debut with a hat-trick of assists. Following a season as Lille’s substitute No10, the transition to a deeper midfield role is rooted in the appointment of Fonseca as boss in 2022. It proved a masterstroke.
His vision and composure offset his short and slight frame from a young age, and at Lille these traits were allowed to develop away from spotlight. Carsley watched Lille play Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 and saw Gomes adopt several positions in the game. Lionel Messi won it 4-3 for PSG, but was suitably impressed to swap shirts with Gomes.
Last season, fresh from his role in England U-21s’ Euros glory, he finished joint-top of the Ligue 1 assist charts.
He said of watching England at Euro 2024: “I could see where I would fit in.” Carsley could see it, too.
England had just 34 per cent of possession against Spain in the final, and 39 per cent against Italy in the Euro 2020 Final was not much better.
Carsley said last week that exerting control is the best way to minimise bad fortune in big games. Enter Gomes as his lucky charm.
