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Premier League
Rio Ngumoha ready to make England splash as he spells out Ballon d'Or ambition
Summarised by MatchPal
Liverpool winger Ngumoha, 18, has impressed Tuchel and will compete for England starts against Croatia and Spain this week.
Rio Ngumoha is ready to make his mark for England after forcing his way into Thomas Tuchel's plans following an excellent start to the season at Liverpool. The 18-year-old winger narrowly missed the World Cup squad last summer but impressed in the pre-tournament camp in Florida.
With Bukayo Saka injured and experienced players left out, Ngumoha has a chance to start when Croatia visit Wembley on Thursday and could face Barcelona's Lamine Yamal when England travel to Madrid to play Spain on Sunday.
Ngumoha, who is dangerous on both flanks, counts Neymar, Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah as inspirations and has ambitions to win the Ballon d'Or one day. He joined Liverpool from Chelsea's academy in 2024 after a tribunal ordered the Reds to pay a minimum of £2.8m, having seen a clearer pathway to the first team at Anfield.
The fearless winger marked his Premier League debut with a sensational last-minute winner against Newcastle last season and has remained grounded despite the hype, leaning on his family's support and blocking out noise from social media.
Summary by MatchPal from the original report at theguardian.com. Reporting and images belong to the source.
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R. Ngumoha
B. Saka
L. Yamal Nasraoui Ebana
Reports on this story
UK times- Fabrizio Romano
- The Guardian
- Matt Law
- The Independent
- Mundo Deportivo
- Craig Hope
- Evening Standard
- Liverpool Echo
- MailOnline
- Mirror
- Lamine plays as if the pitch is his ownMundo Deportivo
- Rio Ngumoha on the Ballon d'Or: "It's a dream, of course! I think I CAN win it"Fabrizio Romano
- Rio Ngumoha on the Ballon d'Or: "It's a dream, of course! I think I CAN win it"Fabrizio Romano
- Rio Ngumoah interview: Why leaving Chelsea for Liverpool was the right decisionCraig Hope
- Sometimes you sit down with a footballer and think 'f*** me, he's impressive'. That's Rio Ngumoha. Interview on: 🏆 Ballon d'Or dream 🧳 Moving from Chelsea to Liverpool #cfc #lfc 💪 Growing up in one ofMatt Law
4 more reports
- From crying kid to Ballon d'Or hopeful: How fearless Rio Ngumoha toughened up, via quitting Chelsea for Liverpool at just 15 and being shielded from 'crime and stuff' in East LondonMailOnline
- Rio Ngumoha on escaping crime, leaving Chelsea and his England dreamThe Independent
- Rio Ngumoha ready to make England splash as he spells out Ballon d'Or ambitionThe GuardianThis article
- Rio Ngumoha explains why he left Chelsea for Liverpool: 'No-brainer'The Independent
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