Two more England youngsters promoted to first team in shock decision by Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate has promoted two U21s stars to the senior England squad ahead of Tuesday's friendly against Belgium.

19-year-old full-back Rico Lewis and 21-year-old goalkeeper James Trafford have been called up by Southgate ahead of the match at Wembley.

The decision follows the withdrawal from the squad of Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and Sam Johnstone due to injury.

It is Burnley goalkeeper Trafford's first senior call up having represented England from under-17 to under-21 level.

The goalkeeper starred in the England side that won the U21 European Championship last summer.

Manchester City youngster Lewis has one senior cap after making his debut against North Macedonia last November.

Maguire, Walker and Johnstone have all returned to their respective clubs for assessment.

The two additions continue the trend of Southgate handing opportunities to youngsters and debuts to previously uncapped players.

Ezri Konsa, Anthony Gordon and 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo all made their senior debuts in England's 1-0 defeat to Brazil on Saturday, and Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite will be hoping to do the same on Tuesday against Belgium.

Tuesday's game represents the final opportunity for England's stars to convince Southgate that they deserve to be included in his squad for Euro 2024 this summer.

England will face Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland in friendlies in June before kicking off their Euros campaign against Serbia on June 16, but by then Southgate will have selected his tournament squad.

England looked defensively shaky against Brazil, with Maguire in particular struggling to keep his composure.

An assured showing from Branthwaite against Belgium could boost his hopes of landing a starting role in Germany this summer.

While Lewis faces an uphill battle to be selected ahead of England's wealth of full-back options, Trafford has a decent shot at being the third-choice goalkeeper ahead of Crystal Palace's Johnstone.

Topics: Gareth Southgate, Football, England, Premier League

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton