Liverpool youngster Rio Ngumoha has had a rapid rise this season, culminating in a senior England debut on Saturday night.
In reality, the 17-year-old has been unlucky not to make Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, but was still afforded a seat on the plane to the USA to take part in the Three Lions’ pre-tournament camp in Florida.
And Tuchel rewarded Ngumoha‘s steep progress by bringing him on half-time of Saturday’s drab 1-0 win over New Zealand. Though the overall performance was poor, the English press hailed Liverpool‘s teenage sensation as the bright spot of a concerning evening.
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Ngumoha shines on England debut
It says just about everything about Ngumoha and his impact that he was the only one of the four players not in England’s World Cup squad to get on the pitch on Saturday.
While Alex Scott, Josh King and Ethan Nwaneri sat on the bench, Ngumoha was brought on at half-time, and according to TalkSPORT, he quickly went about making New Zealand defenders panic.
They claim that the Liverpool starlet was perhaps the ‘biggest shining light’ of the entire match for England as he always looked to beat his man with trickery or ‘short bursts of speed.’
The Standard were equally impressed, handing Ngumoha an 8/10 rating, the highest of any player to feature for Tuchel’s team.
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Hailing him as a ‘livewire,’ they also note his ability to strike fear into his full-back, who he was always trying to ‘bamboozle.’
The Daily Mail were slightly less effusive in their praise, handing Ngumoha a 6.5/10, but still noted that he showed ‘one or two moments of trickery,’ which excited the crowd during an otherwise dull affair.
Finally, the Express hand Liverpool’s No. 73 a 7/10, claiming that he threatened one-v-one despite playing on his slightly less favoured right hand side.
This was noted in his ‘inconsistent’ end product, with one instance pointed out where he could have done better with a final ball to Ivan Toney.
Nevertheless, it was still a hugely promising international debut for Ngumoha, the first England cap of what will surely be many. To top it off, the Liverpool teenager was spotted clutching the Player of the Match award along with his first national team cap after the game. What a talent.
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