Thomas Tuchel warned Rio Ngumoha World Cup decision could haunt England – he’s better than Arsenal duo

Thomas Tuchel has been warned it was a mistake not to take Rio Ngumoha to the World Cup following his performance against New Zealand.

The Liverpool teenager starred for the Three Lions in the pre-tournament friendly win on Saturday night.

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However, the winger is not in the 26-man squad going to the tournament.

Five players were delayed joining up with the England squad due to their involvement in European finals.

These were four Arsenal players and one from Crystal Palace.

As a result, Tuchel brought along four players to the camp to make up the numbers – including Ngumoha.

Both Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke were among the players given a break before joining up with the rest of their teammates.

Ngumoha played the second 45 minutes and was named player of the match on his debut.

The 17-year-old is set for a bright future having already played 29 times for Liverpool this season.

However, talkSPORT’s live football anchor Adrian Durham believes he should have been on the plane.

Durham gave the youngster a 9/10 in his England player ratings to underline just how brilliant his performance was.

He said: “We’ve learned here that Thomas Tuchel has had a bit of a nightmare with Rio Ngumoha. He was the best player on the pitch. He was fantastic. 

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“When you look at the two Arsenal players who play on the right wing, Madueke and Saka, who couldn’t even be bothered to be here while their Arsenal teammate Kai Havertz was scoring and assisting for Germany.

“It makes me wonder about those players. Okay, take into account that England start their World Cup later than Germany. Fine, I take that point on board. However, I think they should be here.

“They should at least make the effort. Even if they’re not going to play, they should be here at least watching it. 

“Ngumoha has taken his chance, but he can’t be picked for the World Cup. So Thomas Tuchel looks a little bit foolish.

“He played in 29 games for Liverpool this season. It’s not like Thomas Tuchel hasn’t seen him. We know what a live wire he could be. 

“From Michael Owen in 1998, we know that if you’re raw and teenage, you can actually do something special on the world stage.

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“Thomas Tuchel has missed a trick. Rio Ngumoha is the best right winger England have got and he’s not even going to be at the World Cup. That’s something we learned today.”

Tuchel’s verdict

talkSPORT spoke to England boss Tuchel after the game and he said it will not be the last time we see Ngumoha in an England shirt.

When asked if he second guessed himself not including Ngumoha in his preliminary squad, Tuchel said: “Well, there are some good guys coming. He played today on the right wing, and he impressed us when we watched him play for Liverpool. 

“In training too, he deserved to play. We will see him again, I’m quite sure.”

Three Lions skipper Harry Kane also gave some advice to the 17-year-old moving into next season.

Kane told talkSPORT: “We will get Noni in, we get Bukayo in on the right side, and Rashford and Anthony deserve to play the tournament for us, but this is very likely, and with a high probability, not the last time he played for us.”

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“We have so much talent. We still have Bukayo and Noni to come back into the team. We can’t forget that. We have Dec [Rice], we have Ebe [Eze].

“All Rio has to do is keep doing what he’s doing. Whenever he gets the chance to train with us or play in a game like he did today, just express himself like he has done all season, to be honest. 

“For him, it’s just one to enjoy, for sure. I think it will give him a bit of hunger and give him that bit between the teeth going into next season and trying to become a regular senior in this team.”