Neco Williams

Neco Shay Williams (born 13 April 2001) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a right back for Premier League club Liverpool and the Wales national team.

Neco Williams
Williams with Liverpool U19 in 2019
Personal information
Full name Neco Shay Williams[1]
Date of birth (2001-04-13) 13 April 2001[2]
Place of birth Wrexham, Wales
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s) Right back[4]
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 76
Youth career
2009–2019 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Liverpool 10 (0)
National team‡
2018– Wales U19[2] 8 (4)
2020– Wales[2] 6 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:25, 13 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2020 (UTC)

Career

Williams joined the academy of Liverpool at the age of six and progressed through the youth ranks, representing the club at U18, U19 and U23 level, as well as in the UEFA Youth League.[5][6][7] He suffered a serious back injury which ruled him out for most of the 2017–18 season, but recovered his place to feature in the club's victorious FA Youth Cup campaign two years later.[8]

Williams' form at youth level was rewarded when, on 30 October 2019, he made his debut for the senior side, starting in a 5–5 (5–4) penalty shoot out win over Arsenal in the EFL Cup. He featured prominently in the match and recorded a last-minute assist for Divock Origi's goal to send the match to penalties, where Liverpool emerged victorious.[9][10] In December, he was included in Liverpool's squad which won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, although he was an unused substitute in both of the club's matches in the competition.[11]

Following the turn of the year, he starred in a team largely made up of teenagers and reserves that defeated Merseyside rivals Everton in the FA Cup 3rd round, and Shrewsbury Town in the 4th round replay, forcing an own goal from Ro-Shaun Williams in the latter fixture to secure his side's progression in the competition.[12][13] In the match against Shrewsbury, Williams was also part of a starting line-up that was the youngest in Liverpool's history, with an average age of 19 years and two days.[14] His Premier League debut followed on 24 June 2020, shortly after campaign resumed following a three-month long suspension caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, when he featured as a 74th-minute substitute in a 4–0 win over Crystal Palace.[15] Williams would go on to make enough appearances to secure his league winners' medal,[16] and a few weeks later on 17 August, he signed a new long-term deal with the Reds.[17]

International career

Williams was born in Wrexham, Wales and has represented Wales at Under 19 level.[3] In August 2020 he was called into the senior Wales squad for the first time.[18] Williams debuted with the senior Wales national football team in a 1–0 UEFA Nations League win over Finland on 3 September 2020.[19] He scored his first goal for the senior squad on the 6th September 2020 against Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League, scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 victory for Wales.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 8 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool U21 2019–20[21] ————2[lower-alpha 1]222
Liverpool 2019–20[21] Premier League 6040100000110
2020–21[22] Premier League 4010203[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0110
Total 10050303010220
Career total 10050303032242
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International
As of match played 15 November 2020[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 202061
Total61
As of match played 15 November 2020. Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Williams goal.[23]
List of international goals scored by Neco Williams
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
16 September 2020Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales2 Bulgaria1–01–02020–21 UEFA Nations League B[24]

Honours

Liverpool Youth

Liverpool

References
  1. "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Liverpool" (PDF). FIFA. 21 December 2019. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. "N. Williams: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. "Neco Williams: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  4. "Neco Williams". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  5. Jones, Neil (30 October 2019). "Neco Williams set to make Liverpool debut in Carabao Cup tie against Arsenal". Goal.com. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. Vincet, Gareth (15 November 2019). "Neco Williams: Wales youngster aims to seize Liverpool chance". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  7. Bekker, Liam (31 October 2019). "Who Is Neco Williams, Liverpool's Latest Academy Graduate?". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  8. Batte, Kathryn (28 October 2019). "Meet Neco Williams – Liverpool youngster described by Steven Gerrard as 'magnificent' in contention for Arsenal clash". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  9. Krishnan, Joe (30 October 2019). "Liverpool 5–5 Arsenal: Liverpool win penalty shootout after 10-goal thriller at Anfield". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  10. Williams, Sam (31 October 2019). "Neco Williams: Anfield debut a dream come true". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  11. Poole, Harry (21 December 2019). "Flamengo 0–1: Roberto Firmino's extra-time strike delivers first Club World Cup for Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  12. "Klopp's teenagers and reserves serve Ancelotti with a painful reality-check". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  13. Williams, Sam (4 February 2020). "Neco Williams: That was a special night for all of us". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  14. Bekker, Liam (5 February 2020). "Three Liverpool Records Broken in One Night". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  15. "Liverpool 4-0 Crystal Palace: Reds move within two points of league title". BBC Sport. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  16. Ellis, Callum (11 July 2020). "Neco Williams set for Premier League medal after fifth league appearance". Y Clwb Pêl-Droed. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  17. "Neco Williams signs new long-term contract with Liverpool FC". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  18. "Wales call up Liverpool's Williams" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  19. "Finland vs. Wales - 3 September 2020 - Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
  20. "Wales vs. Bulgaria - Football Match Stats - September 6, 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  21. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  22. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  23. "Williams, Neco". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  24. "Wales vs. Bulgaria 1–0: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  25. "Liverpool crowned FA Youth Cup winners after beating Manchester City on penalties". The Daily Telegraph. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  26. Clwb Pel-Droed. 11 July 2020 https://clwbpeldroed.org/2020/07/11/neco-williams-fifth-welshman-league-medal/. Retrieved 11 July 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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