Ngumoha draws Rooney and Bellingham comparisons after England's third-youngest competitive debut

Rio Ngumoha announced himself on the international stage this week, becoming England’s third-youngest competitive debutant — behind only Wayne Rooney and Jude Bellingham — as the Three Lions beat Czechia 2-0 during the Nations League group stage.

The 18-year-old Liverpool winger was typically unabashed when reflecting on the milestone. Speaking to ITV Sport, Ngumoha said: “I definitely had the confidence and the belief to think that I could definitely wear an England shirt at 18. Did I think it’d be the first camp? Maybe not, but I definitely knew one day I’d play when I was pretty young.”

He also set out his long-term ambitions in blunt terms, invoking two of England’s most celebrated players. “Jude is already probably the best midfielder in the world at this point,” Ngumoha said. “He definitely believed he would play for England at 17, same as Wayne Rooney. What he did for his club, his country, hopefully, I can do the same. It’s going to be a good journey, I think.”

Elsewhere during the international break, Liverpool’s £116 million signing Florian Wirtz delivered a timely reminder of his quality as Jurgen Klopp recorded his first win as Germany head coach. Wirtz drove the 2-0 victory over Serbia, with his shot in the 39th minute hitting the post before Tom Bischof netted the rebound. The 23-year-old then scored a stunning goal of his own in the second half — his first of the 2026/27 season — and was handed the captain’s armband after Serge Gnabry was substituted.

It has been a difficult start to life at Anfield for Wirtz, but the performance in front of a home crowd under his former Bayer Leverkusen manager will have done his confidence no harm ahead of the Premier League’s return next week.

Other Liverpool internationals were also active during the break. Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez all featured for their respective nations across the Nations League fixtures.