Rio Ngumoha says he can win the Ballon d'Or after Harry Kane's triumph: 'I think I can do it'
Rio Ngumoha believes Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or win has opened the door for young English players and has backed himself as a future winner.
Kane claimed the award on October 26, beating Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal to become the first Englishman in 25 years to be named the world's best player.
The England captain is also set to break his country's all-time appearance record with a 126th cap against Croatia on Thursday.
Ngumoha, 18, is with the squad for the Nations League double-header against Croatia and Spain. With Bukayo Saka injured, the Liverpool winger is competing with Morgan Rogers for a role on the right.
He was part of Thomas Tuchel's pre-World Cup camp in Florida and has since made two substitute appearances against the Czech Republic. Training alongside Kane, he said, showed him what it takes to reach the top.
"When I first came, I was a bit shy, so I was keeping myself to myself," Ngumoha said.
"But then they got me in the group, and just watching him train, watching all the players train, but especially him, the finishing drills that you see. You can see why he won (the Ballon d'Or) 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."
The winger also credited Raheem Sterling, who offered him advice during his time at Chelsea before he joined Liverpool in 2024.
"Raheem Sterling pulled me to the side a couple of times and told me he could see I had talent but I should never zone out in the game, and I should always be in the game," he said.
"The best players are always in the game in the last minutes. If you look at him and Mohamed Salah, they're always there until the crucial moments. Learning from them was important."
'Everyone's seen one of us win the Ballon d'Or'
For Ngumoha, the significance of Kane's win stretches beyond the Bayern Munich striker himself. He said Kane's win has shown young English talent that they can be considered the world's best and believes he is capable of following in the 33-year-old's footsteps.
"Harry Kane winning the Ballon d'Or is definitely a big, big thing, him being known as the best player in the world. It's 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 definitively known as the best player in the world. For me, I would like to achieve it and I think I can do it."
