Lee Carsley’s first squad as interim England manager included a few surprise inclusions – none more so than 23-year-old midfielder Angel Gomes.
The London-born former Manchester United Academy product only has 46 minutes of Premier League experience to his name, but has forged a successful career at French Ligue 1 side Lille, helping them qualify for this season’s Champions League.
He has represented England at every age group from under-16s to under-21s and on Tuesday earned a senior full debut for the Three Lions in England’s Nations League win over Finland, having appeared off the bench in Saturday’s win against the Republic of Ireland.
Gomes, the godson of former Man Utd and Portugal winger Nani, impressed alongside Declan Rice, having more touches (130) and making more passes (116) than any other player.
Manager Lee Carsley, said: “He’s a great person. He absolutely loves football. He’s interested in tactics. He knows all the players in any league.
“If you ask for feedback, you need to be prepared that he will give you feedback on the session or on how we are going to build up or the positions.
“He fully deserves it. The performance you have seen today we have seen for the last three or four years.”
BBC Sport has taken a look at his career so far, which has included tough love under Jose Mourinho and a devastating United exit before thriving in France.
The Salford lad coming through at Manchester United
Gomes did not have to look far for football inspiration.
His father Gil Gomes represented Portugal at under-21 level and helped them win the 1991 Fifa Youth World Championship.
A crowd of 127,000 at Benfica’s Estadio da Luz watched Portugal, whose side included future Portuguese legends Luis Figo and Rui Costa, defeat Brazil in the final on penalties.
Angel Gomes was born in Edmonton, north London, but his family moved to Salford when he was young and he started training with the Manchester United youth system aged six. He became an integral part of the club’s under-18 side, which was managed by Kieran McKenna, now boss of Premier League side Ipswich Town.
Gomes made his senior United debut in the last match of the 2016-17 season, coming on in the 88th minute, replacing Wayne Rooney, in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
In doing so, Gomes became the first player born in the 2000s to play in the Premier League and, at the age of 16 years and 263 days old, was the youngest player to represent United since Duncan Edwards in 1953.
‘I was nearly crying’ – falling out with Mourinho
But Gomes would not see any more Premier League action for 19 months.
Then-boss Jose Mourinho only gave Gomes two minutes of first-team football in 2017-18, as a late substitute in a 4-0 win over Yeovil Town in the FA Cup fourth round.
Gomes lost Mourinho’s faith, with the Portuguese criticising the teenager in front of his team-mates.
In an interview with Sport Bible in 2022, Gomes revealed one public Mourinho humiliation left him on the verge of tears.
“We were at the dinner table and he’s come around speaking to everyone,” said Gomes. “He brought up my performance from the day before. He was saying: ‘You were doing this and doing that but you should have done this and that.’ And this was in front of the whole squad.
“He eventually finished shouting. I was stuck to my seat. Some of the lads came over and said: ‘Don’t worry, he’s trying to get a reaction from you. This is how he is.’
“I was only young so in my head I was thinking: ‘He hates me.’ I went back to my room and rang my dad. I was nearly crying.”
Flourishing in France
Mourinho’s departure from United in December 2018 gave an instant career boost to Gomes as he made his second Premier League substitute appearance in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s second match in charge.
But again he could not cement a place in the side.
By the end of the 2019-20 campaign, Gomes, now 19, had only made 10 senior United appearances, including five as a substitute in the Premier League with his three starts all coming in the Europa League.
With first-team chances limited, he rejected the offer of a new contract and moved to Lille on a free transfer.
A loan spell at Portuguese side Boavista gave Gomes the first-team football he craved, with him scoring six goals and creating three assists in 30 appearances.
At 5ft 6in with an eye for a pass and the skill to run at and dribble past opponents, he was seen as a winger at United, but he has been used more centrally and defensively ever since and can operate across the midfield.
He has been a Lille regular ever since and has contributed 14 assists in Ligue 1 over the past two seasons, with no player having more assists than his eight in 2023-24.
Working his way through the England ranks
While Premier League fans may not know much of Gomes, Carsley is well aware of his talent having worked together when he was in charge of the under-21s.
Gomes could have represented Portugal or Angola but opted for the country of his birth and helped England win the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, alongside Phil Foden, Marc Guehi, Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Another trophy followed last year, with Gomes playing in left midfield in the 1-0 win over Spain in the final of the European Under-21 Championship in an English side that also included Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon and Emile Smith Rowe.
“Angel is probably different to a lot of what we would have seen in the past, in terms of a central midfielder being a lot more physical and robust,” said Carsley on Thursday when announcing his squad.
“He’s a lot more of a technical player – he controls the game with his technique. Looking at the squad, I’ve worked with the majority of them from when I was an assistant with the under-21s before or currently worked with them.
“The players that have been called up for their first caps are really exciting players. I was very proud to congratulate them and they fully deserve the chances they’re going to get.”
It has been an unusual route to the top for Gomes, but he has now shown the England fans what he is capable of.
