Liverpool’s attacking prodigy Rio Ngumoha enjoyed a productive evening for England U17s with two goals and an assist in a 5-0 thrashing of Northern Ireland.
Ngumoha is nearing the end of a breakthrough campaign at Liverpool, which has brought regular first-team training and a memorable debut against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.
Signed from Chelsea in September, the 16-year-old has still played the majority of his football in the academy, dividing his game time between the U21s and U18s.
This month brought another call-up to the England U17s squad and, after substitute appearances in wins over Israel and Slovenia, Ngumoha started against Northern Ireland on Tuesday night.
He certainly rewarded his coach’s faith, scoring twice and assisting another in a dominant display of skill and end product.
Rio Ngumoha v Northern Ireland ? https://t.co/lWSdAHWHne pic.twitter.com/fC9KuUjnUF
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His first came with incredibly quick feet as drove at his marker, dancing towards the six-yard box before firing into the bottom corner with his stronger right foot to put the Young Lions 2-0 up.
Ngumoha then laid the ball up for Finlay Gorman to grab his brace after 25 minutes, with more dazzling play this time resulting in a cross for the Man City midfielder to volley in, having already opened the scoring.
Arsenal‘s Max Dowman then made it 4-0 after the break, before another from Ngumoha on the hour – with more trademark footwork on the left flank – capped the victory.
The Liverpool youngster played the full 90 minutes as England rounded off a trio of qualifiers which saw them book their place at both the U17 Euros in May and the U17 World Cup in November.
It could be a busy season for Ngumoha in 2025/26, then, but before then he will turn his focus back to club matters.
While he is unlikely to feature heavily, if at all, in Liverpool’s final games in the Premier League – even if the title is sealed early – the teenager still has opportunities at academy level.
The U21s have three more games to play in the normal league season – against Brighton, Leeds and Aston Villa – before hopefully entering the playoff phase.
Meanwhile, the U18s will look to end a difficult campaign on a high with their final run of games against Sunderland, Man City, Middlesbrough, Stoke and Everton.
Ngumoha’s Liverpool teammate thrives
U18s coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson will be boosted by the form of striker Josh Sonni-Lambie with the England U18s this month.
Sonni-Lambie earned his first-ever international call-up and, after coming off the bench against Czechia, scored on his full debut against France on Saturday.
He made it back-to-back starts on Tuesday as Liam Bramley’s side took on hosts Portugal in their third friendly, and though he did not score this time, he was trusted to play the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 victory.
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