Jude Bellingham heaped praise on Rio Ngumoha after his England senior debut, leaving the Liverpool teenager speechless. The 17-year-old earned the player of the match award in the Three Lions' 1-0 World Cup warm-up win over New Zealand in Tampa, where Harry Kane scored the only goal.
Ngumoha's Impressive Debut
Ngumoha, who made 29 appearances for Liverpool last season, came on at half-time and immediately gave England more threat down the right flank. He is not in Thomas Tuchel's final 26-man World Cup squad but was called up for pre-tournament friendlies alongside Bournemouth's Alex Scott, Fulham's Josh King, and Ethan Nwaneri.
Despite not being expected to feature in either the New Zealand clash or the upcoming match against Costa Rica, his display has led fans to suggest his omission from the tournament is a mistake.
Bellingham's Praise
In a video posted to England's social media channels, Bellingham presented Ngumoha with his first cap and said: 'Congratulations on an amazing debut. I think we all enjoyed watching it, and obviously you're going to have a really bright future at your club and hopefully with us as well. It's a pleasure to give it to you because I know there'll be so many more.'
The shy Ngumoha replied: 'Thank you everyone. I'm happy. I'm speechless! I just want to say thank you. We keep going!'
Pickford's Comments
Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also praised Ngumoha, telling the Press Association: 'He was quality, nothing fazed him. He's had a really good season at Liverpool and the manager gave him his debut and he showed how good he is. All the young lads have been brilliant in training, they have moulded into the squad and helped us massively.'
Despite his impressive display, Ngumoha is not in line to be promoted to the World Cup squad as he was not in Tuchel's initial 55-man provisional list submitted to FIFA in May. Scott is the only one of the four additional squad members included.
Other Matches
Elsewhere in the US, a Liverpool reunion took place as Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in Ohio, where Alisson, Fabinho, and Mohamed Salah posed for a photo together at full-time. Alisson played the first 45 minutes for Brazil, while Fabinho and Salah both came on at half-time. Florian Wirtz also featured for 80 minutes of Germany's 2-1 win over the USA in Chicago.
