Arsenal prodigy Myles Lewis-Skelly has been left out of England’s matchday squad for their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Serbia on Tuesday despite playing for 90 minutes against Andorra on Saturday.
PFA Young Player of the Year nominee Lewis-Skelly scored on his England debut in manager Thomas Tuchel’s first game against Albania at Wembley Stadium in March as part of a remarkable rise for the 18-year-old.
Lewis-Skelly’s selection as Tuchel’s starting left-back for the 2-0 win at Villa Park was something of a surprise for a player who has featured for 44 minutes in the Gunners’ first three matches of the Premier League season, remaining an unused substitute in their defeat at Liverpool on August 31.
Serbia vs England – Best UK Free Bets, Betting Offers, Odds & Tips
Serbia vs England: Lewis-Skelly out
Serbia’s standing of 32nd in Fifa’s rankings makes the trip to Belgrade by far the trickiest test Tuchel’s side are likely to face in qualifying, but the German’s most orthodox options at left-back have even less experience as starters than Lewis-Skelly.
Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, 22, has come on as a substitute seven times among eight senior international appearances, while Tottenham’s Djed Spence is three years older but is in the squad for the first time, making his debut from the bench against Andorra.
Serbia proved tricky opponents at Euro 2024, with only a Jude Bellingham goal separating the teams in their opener in Germany.
Myles Lewis-Skelly stats
Arsenal gave Lewis-Skelly a professional contract as a 17-year-old and his debut came against Manchester City in September 2024, with a first start immediately after that in a 5-1 home win against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
He became the youngest Arsenal player to start a Champions League game since 2011 in the 3-0 win over Monaco on December 11 2024 and scored his first Gunners goal in a 5-1 home win Manchester City in the Premier League on February 2.
Singapore settings with Lewis-Skelly ✨
🎥 Spend a day in the life with Myles 👇 pic.twitter.com/dfres8EwqU
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 25, 2025
Two assists in the Champions League followed: one in the 7-1 away win against PSV Eindhoven in the last 16, the other for Mikel Merino in the 3-0 home win over Real Madrid on Arsenal’s way to ousting the holders in the quarter-finals.
Lewis-Skelly started last season representing England Under-19s but took 20 minutes to score the first goal of Tuchel’s reign.
PFA Young Player of the Year.
The Top Six. Chosen by the players. ⤵️#PFAawards pic.twitter.com/bI8mvd4Ngu
— PFA (@PFA) June 19, 2025
Myles Lewis-Skelly salary, wages
Lewis-Skelly signed a new five-year contract with his club in June, having previously landed an improved deal in October 2023, with Capology putting his previous gross annual salary at the time at ÂŁ4,000 a week or ÂŁ208,000 annually.
The new deal is likely to have hugely increased those sums. “I still have more expectations for myself,” he said when Arsenal announced his latest contract following his breakthrough campaign.
“I want to achieve more. I want to strive higher. I just want more for myself, more for my team and to keep learning. I’m so proud and happy. I know those words are simple, but they sum up how I feel signing for this club.
“I’m a fan and it’s like a dream come true. I know I’ve taken a lot of experience from the games about the positive moments, the mistakes that I’ve made. I just want to keep learning and keep improving.”
How to watch Serbia v England: TV and online streams
Serbia vs England kicks-off at 19:45pm BST (14:45 ET / 11:45 PT) on Tuesday. It is being shown on ITV1 and STV in the UK and can be streamed on the ITVX and STV Player apps.
Full England squad for September 2025 World Cup qualifiers
Goalkeepers:Â Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford
Defenders:Â Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence, John Stones*
Midfielders:Â Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers, Adam Wharton*
Forwards:Â Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins
* Withdrew through injury. Wharton replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek
England football team World Cup qualifying fixtures
All fixtures start at 19:45 GMT unless otherwise stated.
Friday, March 21: England 2-0 Albania
Monday, March 24: England 3-0 Latvia
Saturday, June 7: Andorra 0-1 England
Saturday, September 6: England 2-0 Andorra
Tuesday, September 9: Serbia v England
Tuesday, October 14: Latvia v England
Thursday, November 13: England v Serbia
Sunday, November 16: Albania v England (17:00)
Sound on for this one. 🤩🔊 pic.twitter.com/ozcnaDn58Q
— England (@England) March 19, 2025
England games: What happens if Three Lions top group?
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Croatia are among the other favourites to win their groups.
What happens if England finish second in World Cup qualifiers?
England will be eliminated if they finish third or below and enter the play-offs between March 26-31 2026 if they come second.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign. The games will comprise single-leg semi-finals and finals.
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place in December 2025. The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.
