Rio Ngumoha and Florian Wirtz have given Liverpool plenty to work with during the international break. Ngumoha made his competitive England debut against Czechia this week, becoming the third-youngest player ever to earn a cap for the Three Lions at 18, behind only Wayne Rooney and Jude Bellingham.
The Liverpool winger spoke to ITV Sport after the match about his self-belief. “I definitely had the confidence and the belief to think that I could definitely wear an England shirt at 18,” he said. “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 added that he aims to replicate Bellingham’s trajectory: “Jude is already probably the best midfielder in the world at this point. 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.”
Wirtz, meanwhile, delivered a man-of-the-match showing as Germany beat Serbia 2–0 under Jürgen Klopp’s management, scoring and wearing the captain’s armband. The £116million Liverpool signing revealed what allowed him to flourish: the constant movement and running from his team-mates. “The players around me also made it very easy for me today. There was a lot of movement in our game, and we were all eager to play football. That makes it easier to shine,” he told reporters. The blueprint—midfield runners providing space for Wirtz to operate—is now Andoni Iraola’s task to replicate at club level.
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