Neco Williams

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

This article is about the Welsh footballer. For the Spanish footballer, see Nico Williams.
Neco Williams
Williams with Wales at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Neco Shay Williams[1]
Date of birth (2001-04-13) 13 April 2001[2]
Place of birth Wrexham, Wales[3]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Position(s) Full-back[4]
Team information
Current team
 Nottingham Forest
Number 7
Youth career
2009–2019 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Liverpool 13 (0)
2022 → Fulham (loan) 14 (2)
2022– Nottingham Forest 33 (1)
International career‡
2018–2020 Wales U19[2] 8 (4)
2020– Wales 34 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:40, 18 August 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:45, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

Williams was a member of the Wales squad that qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first to do so since 1958.

Club career

Liverpool
Williams playing for Liverpool U19 in 2019

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] becoming the fifth Welsh player to win the Premier League.[17] A few weeks later on 17 August, he signed a new long-term deal with the Reds.[18]

Loan to Fulham

On 31 January 2022, Williams joined Championship club Fulham on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[19] He scored the first senior club goals of his career when he scored twice in a 5–1 win over Swansea City on 8 March 2022.[20]

Nottingham Forest

Williams signed for newly promoted Premier League club Nottingham Forest on 10 July 2022 on a four-year contract for a fee reported to be around £17 million.[21][22]

International career

Williams was born in Wrexham and has represented Wales at Under 19 level.[23] In August 2020 he was called into the senior Wales squad for the first time.[24] Williams made his Wales debut in a 1–0 UEFA Nations League win over Finland on 3 September 2020.[25] He scored his first goal for the senior team on 6 September 2020 against Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League, scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 victory for Wales.[26] In May 2021 he was selected for the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[27]

Williams helped Wales qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 for the first time since 1958.[28] In November 2022 he was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[29]

Personal life

Williams has a younger brother, Keelan Williams, who plays for Burnley's Under 18 side.[30]

Williams' grandfather, Kelvin Jones, died in November 2022, the day before Williams started in Wales' opening game of the World Cup; he revealed the loss after game, dedicating his performance to Jones.[31][32]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 18 August 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool U21 2019–20[33] —————2[lower-alpha 1]222
Liverpool 2019–20[33] Premier League 6040100000110
2020–21[34] Premier League 6010204[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0140
2021–22[35] Premier League 1000403[lower-alpha 2]0—80
Total 13050707010330
Fulham (loan) 2021–22[35] Championship 14210———152
Nottingham Forest 2022–23[36] Premier League 3111040——361
2023–24[37] Premier League 200000——20
Total 3311040——381
Career total 603701107032885
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International
As of match played 11 September 2023[38]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Wales 202061
2021111
202290
202360
Total322
As of match played 19 June 2023
Wales' score listed first, score column indicates score after each Williams goal[38]
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[39]
213 November 2021Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales16 Belarus2–05–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification[40]

Honours

Liverpool Youth

Liverpool

Fulham

References
  1. "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Liverpool FC" (PDF). FIFA. 5 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". Fulham F.C. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  4. "Neco Williams: Player Info". Nottingham Forest. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  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. "Every Welsh Player To Win The Premier League | Football Stories". 27 February 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  18. "Neco Williams signs new long-term contract with Liverpool FC". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  19. "Williams Arrives On Loan". Fulham F.C. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  20. "Swansea 1–5 Fulham". BBC Sport. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  21. "Forest secure Wales international Williams". Nottingham Forest F.C. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  22. Winehouse, Amitai (13 July 2022). "Forest confirm £17m Williams signing from Liverpool". The Athletic. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  23. "Neco Williams: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  24. "Wales call up Liverpool's Williams". BBC Sport.
  25. "Finland vs. Wales – 3 September 2020". Soccerway.
  26. "Wales vs. Bulgaria – Football Match Stats – September 6, 2020". ESPN. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  27. "Uncapped Colwill in Wales Euro 2020 squad". BBC Sport.
  28. UEFA.com. "Wales-Ukraine | European Qualifiers 2022". UEFA. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  29. 2022 Wales World Cup squad
  30. "5-goal Liverpool U18s thrash Burnley in final game of 2021". This Is Anfield. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  31. "World Cup 2022: Neco Williams played after suffering family bereavement". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  32. "Liverpool players rally as Neco Williams reveals heartache behind World Cup debut". This is Anfield. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  33. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  34. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  35. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  36. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  37. "Games played by Neco Williams in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  38. "Neco Williams". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  39. "Wales vs. Bulgaria 1–0: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  40. "Wales vs. Belarus 5–1: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  41. "Liverpool crowned FA Youth Cup winners after beating Manchester City on penalties". The Daily Telegraph. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  42. "Neco Williams: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  43. "Liverpool FC 1–0 CR Flamengo: Line-ups". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020.
  44. "Championship: 2021/22: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
    "Fulham: Squad details: 2021/22". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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