Rio Ngmoha made his England debut at the weekend but is not in the World Cup squad – and Liverpool great John Barnes does not think he should be included in the Three Lions discussions just yet.
Rio Ngmoha made a big impression on his England debut (Image: 2026 Getty Images)
Manager John Barnes has urged England to “leave Lio Ngmoha alone” as he wants Liverpool teenager Lio Ngmoha to develop away from the limelight.
The teenage sensation has been a rare bright spark for the Reds in an otherwise underwhelming campaign. He was one of several young stars called up to Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man national squad for the World Cup warm-up matches.
Ngmoha made his debut off the bench in England’s game against New Zealand at the weekend and was named Player of the Match. He has often shown flashes of quality when given the chance at club level, and the same was true when he stepped up to the international stage.
But Barnes insisted Gumoha should not be anywhere near the England squad and should become a regular at Anfield before any such talks arise.
He told talkSPORT: “Theo Walcott played in the World Cup as a 16-year-old and I want him to be left alone to develop. If you want him to develop, I can’t overstate his importance.”
“He’s not even playing for Liverpool. He’s a sub for Liverpool. So until he’s in the team consistently and playing well, you don’t put any pressure on him. That’s why it was good that he didn’t play too much in the Liverpool team last year when they were struggling, because if the team wasn’t doing well and he was struggling because of his confidence, that could affect him.”
“I want him to develop slowly. So the fact that he’s not in the Liverpool team, I want Arsenal to do the same with Max Doman. Leave him alone. If he’s not playing regularly for Arsenal or Liverpool, why would he play for England?”
Teenager given opportunity at Liverpool impressed
Ngumoha only started nine of Liverpool’s 29 games, but he quickly became a popular player and was booed by Arne Slott when he sent off a teenager against Chelsea last season.
It’s not that England’s frontline lacks his quality, but as in any major competition, injuries can always be a factor. Tuchel currently has a wide range of options with players such as Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze, but no matter what happens, he cannot bring in Ngmoha to replace them.
Under World Cup rules, teams can call up injured substitutes up to 24 hours before the opening game. However, players must be selected from a provisional squad of 55 submitted to FIFA. Ngumoha is not included in that initial list and cannot be added to the tournament squad under any circumstances.
Ngmoha’s quality has left an imprint on some of England’s senior players, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saying: “He was of high quality and nothing fazed him. He had a really good season at Liverpool and the manager gave him his debut and showed how good he is.”
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