Rio Ngumoha cut from Thomas Tuchel's England squad to face Spain due to UEFA rules

· Mirror

Liverpool wonderkid Rio Ngumoha has impressed after being called up by Thomas Tuchel, but he will not be included in the final squad to face Spain at Wembley

Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha is the odd man out from England’s squad to face Spain at Wembley.

UEFA rules state only 23 names can be put on the match day squad list which means one player had to be cut from Thomas Tuchel’s group to face the world champions tonight.

UEFA confirmed the updated list this morning and 18-year-old winger Ngumoha is not included in the group. All 24 players in the squad trained yesterday so one player had to be cut.

Ngumoha has been a big hit with England as he made his debut for the seniors in the pre World Cup warm-up friendlies in Florida and was immediately elevated to the seniors for the Nations League campaign.

He said this week he was “fearless” and wanted to be a part of success for England. Speaking to talkSPORT, Ngumoha said: "I don’t even know what to say about the manager, Thomas.

> "He’s really helpful, and I think him picking me shows his belief in me and how exciting and explosive he thinks I am.

> "All I can do now is just show him again why I should be here for the many more camps and why he thinks I should be a big part of the team and help the team.

> "I’d say I’m fearless. I like to take on players, whether it’s one-v-ones, sometimes two-v-ones as well. But also, I want to help the team out with goals and assists because at the end of the day, it’s not just about me and the team."

He is certain to get a chance in this run of games - four in ten days - as Tuchel plans to rotate and utilise his squad. Tuchel said on Friday that Harry Kane wants to play all four but otherwise no player can complete them all.

When asked whether a player can play all the games, Tuchel said: “Maybe not all of them. It’s not happening, I think. We will use our substitutes. Harry is desperate to start all four and there is a chance he will.

> “This would actually be my mindset, to not make so many changes, to keep it going and to give the players we can rely on the trust and responsibility to take the next step and carry this team. Ideally.

> “We have six or seven positions with regular starters but we must look at the reality. This is just my head. If you ask me after the game we may be having a completely different discussion and then we will travel to the Czech Republic and see. I would like to give players a regular start.

> “That doesn’t mean they have to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes. It makes a big difference in our opinion if you play 70 or 90. From 70 on it makes a big difference. Up until 70mins its generally fine.”

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