England U18s debut latest step as Mumba continues rapid rise

BALI Mumba continued his incredible rise as he made his debut for England’s under-18s side on Wednesday evening.

The 16-year-old Sunderland midfielder was selected in the Young Lions squad which headed to western France this week for a fournation tournament.

And manager Neil Dewsnip handed him his debut at under-18s level in the first of three scheduled matches, coming off the bench for the final seven minutes against the Netherlands.

England won the game 3-0, with a third goal added just a minute after Mumba entered the action.

The goals were scored by Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood, Chelsea’s Tino Anjorin and Nottingham Forest’s Arvin Appiah.

Although Mumba’s game-time was limited in this one, he will hope to play a more significant role in the final two games of the tournament, starting off against Russia today.

This latest step-up represents yet another achievement for the young midfielder in the last six months.

Having already represented his country at under-16 and under-17 level, Mumba has now made a further step-up two years early.

That adds to his Sunderland firstteam debut back in May when he came off the bench against Wolves in a 3-0 victory and took the captain’s armband from Republic of Ireland international John O’Shea to become the Black Cats’ youngest captain in history.

And a strong pre-season impressed new boss Jack Ross and convinced the Scot to hand Mumba his first senior league start on the opening day against Charlton.