Ben Woodburn

Liverpool

Early career

Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Woodburn was raised in Tattenhall, Cheshire, and played both cricket and football from a young age. He joined Liverpool's academy at under-7 level where he steadily progressed through the youth ranks, leading to former academy director Frank McParland identifying him as one of the brightest prospects at the club. During his schooling, Liverpool agreed to a request from Woodburn's parents that he should stay at home rather than in Rainhill, which was closer to the academy in Kirkby. In order to facilitate his development, the club arranged for a driver to transport him every day from training back to his home in Tattenhall. When he was 15 years old, Woodburn left his high school, Bishop Heber High School and was fast-tracked from Liverpool's under-16s to the under-18s where his rapid development saw him included in Liverpool's "Futures Group", a programme which afforded the club's most talented young players a weekly opportunity to train with then first-team coach, Pep Lijnders.

2016–17 season

Having impressed first-team manager Jürgen Klopp during these training sessions, Woodburn was handed his non-competitive debut during the 2016–17 pre-season in a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers. He came off the bench in Liverpool's next match to score one and assist another for Roberto Firmino in a 5–0 friendly win over Fleetwood Town. Woodburn then, along with Kevin Stewart and fellow academy…

Club

As of match played 21 February 2026

International

As of match played 1 September 2021

As of match played 1 September 2021 Wales score listed first, score column indicates score after each Woodburn goal.

Until his senior international debut, Woodburn was eligible to represent both Wales, through his maternal grandfather, and England. During his early teens he attended a training camp with the England schoolboys' team and was later offered an under-16 call-up by England in August 2014. He rejected the call-up and chose to remain in the Wales setup at the time. After his club debut with Liverpool in November 2016, it was reported that England remained hopeful of convincing Woodburn to switch his international allegiance despite previously being rebuffed. The possibility was ended in September the following year when he made his senior international debut for Wales in a competitive fixture.

Youth

Woodburn has played for Wales up to U19 level and was first called up to train at one of the nation's regional development centres at Dragon Park when he was 13. He played for Wales U15s in two games against Poland in March 2014, scored a hat-trick for the U16 side against Northern Ireland the following year and then captained the U17 team against Greece in 2016. Later that year, he represented the U19 side in their UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches and scored a brace in a 6–2 win over Luxembourg.

Senior

On 16 March 2017, Woodburn was called up by head coach Chris Coleman to the Wales senior team for the first time, aged 17, for the nation's World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. He remained an unused substitute, however, as…

Liverpool

UEFA Champions League: 2018–19 Wales

China Cup runner-up: 2018 Individual

Liverpool Academy Player of the Season: 2016–17 BBC Wales Young Sportsman of the Year: 2017