England winger Rio Ngumoha said teammate Harry Kane’s recent Ballon d’Or win can help the next generation of English players, including himself, follow in the Bayern Munich striker’s footsteps and be recognised as the world’s best.
Ngumoha burst onto the scene last season with Liverpool and it ended with him earning a place in England’s pre-World Cup camp, where he made a big impression.
The 18-year-old is part of the England squad for Nations League matches with Croatia and Spain this week and is taking inspiration from the team’s captain.
“[Kane winning] has also helped English football now because everyone’s seen one of us win the Ballon d’Or, it is definitely encouraging many more people to want to be known as the best player in the world,” Ngumoha said.
“For me, I would like to achieve it and I think I can do it.”
Kane became the first Englishman in 25 years to win the Ballon d’Or, beating Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to claim football’s most prestigious individual award on Oct. 26.
“I haven’t spoken to him much, really,” Ngumoha added of Kane. “When I first came, I was a bit shy, so I was keeping myself to myself, but then they got me in the group, and just watching him train, watching all the players train, but especially him, like the finishing drills that you see.
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“You can see why he won it and why he’s known as the best striker, best player in the world.
“Definitely an inspiration to me, but just to every young player and probably every England player as well. He’s a top guy.”
It is not that long ago that Ngumoha was growing up in a “tough area” in east London, where playing football with his friends ensured he kept on the straight and narrow.
“Growing up in Manor Park, everyone knows it’s a tough area,” he said. “But to be fair, I think the people around me and all my friends and family made sure I wasn’t a part of anything that was too rough.
“And I had football, which is a top, top escape route for things like crime and stuff.
“And just having, like I said, having a strong support system around me, just to encourage me to just focus on football and also still be a kid, whether that’s just going out to play football or going out to the movies or something, just little things like that.”
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