Chris Rigg
Personal information
Full name Christopher Rigg[1]
Date of birth (2007-06-18) 18 June 2007
Place of birth Hebburn, England
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Sunderland
Number 31
Youth career
Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023– Sunderland 6 (1)
International career‡
2022 England U15 4 (2)
2022–2023 England U16 9 (1)
2022– England U17 8 (1)
2023– England U18 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:20, 28 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:19, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

Christopher Rigg (born 18 June 2007) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sunderland.

Club career

Early life

Rigg was born in Hebburn.[2] He joined Sunderland while still in primary school.[2]

Sunderland

With Sunderland facing numerous injuries in their squad, Rigg was named on the bench for the EFL Championship game against Blackpool on 1 January 2023.[3] Less than a week later, he was again named on the bench, alongside fellow young player Tom Watson, for an FA Cup third round game against Shrewsbury Town, with manager Tony Mowbray saying Rigg was "really impressive", having watched him train with the first team.[4]

He made his professional debut in the game against Shrewsbury Town on 7 January 2023, coming on as a substitute for Édouard Michut in a 2–1 win.[5] In doing so, he became the second youngest player in Sunderland history, behind Derek Forster.[4] Following his debut, he was promoted to the Sunderland first team, having to train with the squad only one or two days a week, as he was still in school at the time.[6] Rigg's second appearance came in the following round of the FA Cup against Fulham, replacing Patrick Roberts in the 86th minute. In injury time, with the score at 1–1, he received a cut back from Abdoullah Ba before firing a shot into the roof of the Fulham net, only to have the goal disallowed due to Ba being offside.[7] He scored his first competitive goal for Sunderland in an EFL Cup tie against Crewe Alexandra on 8 August 2023.[8] With this goal, he not only became Sunderland's youngest ever goalscorer, but also the youngest goalscorer in the competition's history.[9] On 2 September, Rigg scored on his league debut against Southampton, netting the final goal in a 5–0 home win.[10] In doing so he became Sunderland's youngest ever league goalscorer, breaking a record held by Jimmy Hamilton for over half a century.[11]

International career

Rigg has represented England at youth international level.[1] He captained England at under-16 level, before being promoted to the under-17 squad while still only fifteen.[2]

Rigg made his England U18 debut during a 1-1 draw with Belgium in Marbella on 11 October 2023.[12]

On 2 November 2023, Rigg was included in the England squad for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup[13] and played his first game of the competition as a starter against Iran, winning the game 2-1.

Career statistics

As of match played 28 October 2023[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sunderland 2022–23 Championship 0030000 030
2023–24 Championship 610011—72
Career total 61301100102

    References

    1. 1 2 Chris Rigg at WorldFootball.net
    2. 1 2 3 Wilson, Scott (9 January 2023). "Who is Chris Rigg - Sunderland's youngest outfield player". thenorthernecho.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
    3. ↑ Smith, Phil (2 January 2023). "The story of Chris Rigg's remarkable Sunderland call-up - and what happens next". sunderlancecho.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
    4. 1 2 Hunter, James (5 January 2023). "Sunderland 15-year-old Chris Rigg ready for debut as Tony Mowbray makes 'impressive' statement". chroniclelive.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
    5. ↑ "Shrewsbury Town 1–2 Sunderland". bbc.com. 7 January 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
    6. ↑ Smith, Phil (8 January 2023). "'Pretty sure': Tony Mowbray explains the next steps in Chris Rigg's incredible Sunderland journey". sunderlandecho.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
    7. ↑ Hewitt, Matty (29 January 2023). "Chris Rigg denied 'incredible' Fulham moment as Sunderland earn FA Cup replay". chroniclelive.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
    8. ↑ "Sunderland 1-1 Crewe". BBC. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
    9. ↑ EFL (2023-08-09). "Sunderland's Chris Rigg makes Carabao Cup history". EFL. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
    10. ↑ Newsum, Matt (2 September 2023). "Sunderland put five past in-form Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
    11. ↑ Hunter, James (2023-09-03). "Sunderland's teen star Chris Rigg rewrites the record books again". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
    12. ↑ Veevers, Nicholas (11 October 2023). "Report: Belgium 1-1 England MU18s". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
    13. ↑ "England squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
    14. ↑ Chris Rigg at Soccerway
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