In the third round of the Champions League group stage, Liverpool defeated Villarreal 4-3 at home. 18-year-old Liverpool youngster Rio Ngumoha delivered 2 assists in the match, and his outstanding performance earned him the official UEFA Champions League Player of the Match award.

In this match, Ngumoha performed exceptionally well in attack, providing two assists in a single game and helping Araújo and Mac Allister find the back of the net.

At just 18 years and 52 days old, Ngumoha set a record in this match, becoming Liverpool’s youngest player to provide an assist in a European competition and the third youngest player in Champions League history to provide at least two assists in a single game.

Following his standout display, Ngumoha was named the Player of the Match.

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held on Monday, October 26, 2026. This year, the event will take place in London for the first time, with the specific venue yet to be announced report has revealed.

The latest nomination list for the annual award, organized by France Football magazine, was officially released on Tuesday, September 8, led by England captain Kane.

World Cup winner Yamal and Real Madrid star Mbappé are also strong contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or, with Kvaratskhelia, Rodri, and Messi. also on the shortlist.

Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Dembélé won the current Ballon d’Or, having received the award from Rodri last year.

The Ballon d’Or is usually held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, but this year it moves to England to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Sir Stanley Matthews winning the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956.

Following an outstanding season at Bayern Munich, Kane is currently the top favorite for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. He scored 61 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions, helping Vincent Kompany’s team secure a domestic treble and earning him his second European Golden Boot.

At this summer’s World Cup, he also helped England reach the semifinals, with the Three Lions ultimately finishing third.

If Kane ultimately lifts the trophy, he will be the first English player to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001, and only the fourth Englishman in history to receive the award, after Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Stanley Matthews, and Kevin Keegan. Keegan won the award twice consecutively in 1978 and 1979 while playing for Hamburg.

The rankings, released on Tuesday, show that the 10-time African champions have fallen from 36th position globally but remain Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national team.

South Africa, Morocco, Ghana and Zambia occupy the second to fifth positions in Africa, respectively.

The Falcons’ decline follows a series of disappointing results, including their quarter-final exit at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where they lost to Malawi and Cameroon.

Nigeria also suffered a two-one defeat to South Africa in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup play-offs.

However, the team recorded two victories over Comoros in the qualifiers for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Globally, Spain remain top of the rankings, ahead of the United States, Germany, England and Japan.

The next FIFA Women’s World Rankings are scheduled for release on December 7, 2026.