Can 'calm' and 'intelligent' O'Reilly keep England left-back spot?

Nico O'Reilly has made 35 appearances for Manchester City

With all the focus on England's competition for attacking places, Nico O'Reilly's international debut may have slipped under the radar.

The 20-year-old - who only made his first Premier League start in April - received his first senior call-up in October and was handed his debut by Thomas Tuchel in Thursday's win over Serbia at Wembley.

The young Manchester City left-back is the sixth player to be given a senior debut by Tuchel, after Dan Burn, Trevoh Chalobah, Elliot Anderson, Djed Spence and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

O'Reilly was picked over Spence and Lewis-Skelly but did not look out of place alongside Ezri Konsa, John Stones and Reece James in defence.

"I'm over the moon," O'Reilly told BBC Radio 5 Live after the game. "Tonight was a very special night, making my debut. Dream come true for me and my family.

"My mum, stepdad, sister, for them to watch me play here at Wembley is a crazy feeling."

It has been a rapid rise for O'Reilly for club and country, with this England debut coming hot on the heels of his impressive display as Manchester City beat defending champions Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

In that game he and Jeremy Doku formed a strong partnership down the left that the Reds could not cope with.

O'Reilly has no intention of standing still, however, with his eyes firmly set on securing a place in Tuchel's World Cup squad.

"It is an aim for me to try to get to the World Cup," he added.

"There's huge competition but I have got to just keep working hard, game by game and day by day."

Midfielder turned left-back - who is O'Reilly?

O'Reilly is the fifth Manchester City player to make his England debut before turning 21

A boyhood fan of Manchester City, he progressed through City's age groups after signing with the academy aged eight - and insiders say the potential he displayed always made him destined for the first team.

After captaining the club to the Under-18 Premier League title in 2023 - and impressing in the elite development squad last season - he made his breakthrough to the senior side at the start of last term.

It was capped with a dream first appearance, a the Community Shield penalty-shootout win over rivals Manchester United at Wembley.

This season he has very much established himself as a regular at City, making 10 Premier League appearances so far, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

Interestingly, however, left-back was not initially his calling.

Previously describing himself as a box-to-box midfielder who grew up admiring Yaya Toure and David Silva, he was deployed in the full-back role last season by manager Pep Guardiola through necessity because of injuries.

At one stage last term, City went on a run of one win in 13 games and boss Guardiola told BBC Sport the upturn in results after that "would be difficult to imagine" without O'Reilly's contributions.

'He can make the position his own'

O'Reilly wasn't massively tested against Serbia but what he needed to do he did well.

He had 64 touches of the ball, completed 45 passes and won three duels.

"I loved the emotion he plays with," former Manchester United and England defender Phil Jones said on BBC Radio 5 live.

"He is always controlled with his emotions for a young player, to play in those magnitude of games.

"He has got that real good state of mind - he plays on the edge, but he is calm.

"He is young, excited and he is keeping his emotions in check."

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: "He has been superb.

"For one so young at still only 20, very well-deserved. That's one of the spots that he can definitely make his own."

Plenty of plaudits from those watching but, crucially, how did his manager rate him?

"Nico had a fantastic debut today, he is a very calm person," Tuchel said.

"He seems to be very shy, he doesn't speak a lot, but he is very intelligent on the pitch and adapted so well to all the new things we demand from him. So, well done."