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Ngumoha Has Ballon d’Or in His Sights After Taking Inspiration from Kane’s Triumph

UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
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Ngumoha Has Ballon d’Or in His Sights After Taking Inspiration from Kane’s Triumph

UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool winger Rio ‌Ngumoha said Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or victory can inspire a new generation of English footballers, including himself, to follow in the Bayern Munich striker's footsteps and be recognized as the world's best.

Kane was awarded football's highest individual honor last month, becoming the first Englishman to win the award since ‌Michael Owen ‌in 2001.

Ngumoha, who was called ‌up ⁠to the England ⁠squad for this week's Nations League games against Croatia and Spain, said Kane was an inspiration.

"Harry Kane winning the Ballon d'Or is definitely a big thing," the 18-year-old told British ⁠media.

"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 known as the best player in the world.

"For me, I would like to achieve it ‌and I think I can do it."

Ngumoha was a bright ⁠spark ⁠for Liverpool last season and has become a key part of the squad, inspiring them to a 4-3 comeback victory over Villarreal in the Champions League last month.

He has played three times for England since making his debut in June.

England host Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, before travelling to Madrid to face world champions Spain on Sunday.

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Ngumoha Has Ballon d’Or in His Sights After Taking Inspiration from Kane’s Triumph

UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
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Ngumoha Has Ballon d’Or in His Sights After Taking Inspiration from Kane’s Triumph

UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
UEFA Champions League - Fenerbahce v Liverpool - Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye - November 4, 2026 Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha, Kostas Tsimikas and Dominik Szoboszlai during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool winger Rio ‌Ngumoha said Harry Kane's Ballon d'Or victory can inspire a new generation of English footballers, including himself, to follow in the Bayern Munich striker's footsteps and be recognized as the world's best.

Kane was awarded football's highest individual honor last month, becoming the first Englishman to win the award since ‌Michael Owen ‌in 2001.

Ngumoha, who was called ‌up ⁠to the England ⁠squad for this week's Nations League games against Croatia and Spain, said Kane was an inspiration.

"Harry Kane winning the Ballon d'Or is definitely a big thing," the 18-year-old told British ⁠media.

"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 known as the best player in the world.

"For me, I would like to achieve it ‌and I think I can do it."

Ngumoha was a bright ⁠spark ⁠for Liverpool last season and has become a key part of the squad, inspiring them to a 4-3 comeback victory over Villarreal in the Champions League last month.

He has played three times for England since making his debut in June.

England host Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, before travelling to Madrid to face world champions Spain on Sunday.

Sports

Source: Man United Does ‘Due Diligence’ on Pochettino Becoming Its Next Coach

United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino arrives for the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, July 6, 2026. (AP)
United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino arrives for the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, July 6, 2026. (AP)
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Source: Man United Does ‘Due Diligence’ on Pochettino Becoming Its Next Coach

United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino arrives for the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, July 6, 2026. (AP)
United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino arrives for the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, July 6, 2026. (AP)

Manchester United is working on a potential deal to have US men’s team coach Mauricio Pochettino to replace Michael Carrick, who is under pressure after a dismal start to the season, a source with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.

United is in 18th place in the Premier League standings after 10 rounds, the club's worst start in the modern era.

Pochettino is a candidate to succeed Carrick, even though the 54-year-old Argentine is under contract with the US team through the 2030 World Cup.

A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that preparations to appoint Pochettino had been carried out as a matter of “due diligence." The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because no final decision has been made on Carrick's future.

Julian Nagelsmann, Eddie Howe and Antonio Conte have also been reported to be options in recent weeks.

It is not uncommon for clubs weigh up potential candidates and reach out to intermediaries before deciding to fire a coach.

Pochettino, who has previously coached Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea in the Premier League, took over the US team in October 2024 and led it to the round of 16 at this year’s World Cup.

He was a leading candidate for Manchester United in 2022 when Erik ten Hag was ultimately hired.

Pochettino won the French title with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022, but arguably his greatest achievement was turning Tottenham into a serial title contender in the Premier League and also leading the London club to the Champions League final in 2019.

He has never won a major trophy in England, most recently losing in the final of the English League Cup with Chelsea in 2024.

Carrick, who said Sunday that he would not walk away from the job, was due to lead training Wednesday despite increased speculation over his position.

United opted against firing him last month, deciding to give him time to turn around a wretched start to the season, but Sunday's 4-4 draw with Aston Villa left the 20-time English champion in the relegation zone with just one win from 10 games.

Sports

Vonn Recovering from Ninth Surgery After Olympic Crash

Lindsey Vonn attends the 15th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California, US, November 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Lindsey Vonn attends the 15th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California, US, November 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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Vonn Recovering from Ninth Surgery After Olympic Crash

Lindsey Vonn attends the 15th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California, US, November 7, 2026. (Reuters)
Lindsey Vonn attends the 15th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles, California, US, November 7, 2026. (Reuters)

American downhill great Lindsey ‌Vonn has undergone a ninth operation on the left leg she shattered in a horrific crash at the Winter Olympics in Cortina in February.

The 42-year-old posted a message before surgery saying she hoped it would be the last operation she required.

Vonn made it to her fifth Olympics despite an ACL injury the week before but crashed 13 seconds into her run, suffering a ‌compound fracture ‌and tibial plateau fracture.

"This day has ‌been ⁠looming on my ⁠calendar for a while now and the time has finally come," Vonn said on Instagram ahead of her surgery this week. "I've been nervous and anxious about it, but at the same time excited to hopefully put this behind me.

"This ⁠will be my ninth surgery and ‌I'm praying my last. ‌There are still things that could change in ‌surgery so we will have to wait and ‌see how it goes but I will keep you posted on my progress when I am out of surgery and recovering."

Vonn was named in the US ‌Alpine ski team for the 2026-27 World Cup season despite uncertainty over ⁠her future, ⁠although she is refusing to rule out a return.

"There's a lot of unanswered questions that I have in my mind and I'm still trying to process everything," she said.

"I don't want to close the door on racing. I think I have to be 100%, and I want to get back on the mountain before I can make that judgement."

Vonn is one of Alpine skiing's most decorated athletes with three Olympic medals and 84 World Cup victories.