Left Wing
Rabbi Matondo (born 9 September 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and the Wales national team. Matondo played youth football for Cardiff City and Manchester City. He joined German club Schalke 04 in January 2019, where he made 32 first-team appearances and was sent on loan to Stoke City and Cercle Brugge. He signed for Rangers in July 2022. Born in England to parents from the DR Congo, Matondo was eligible to play for either country, as well as Wales, where he grew up. Having played for the England under-15 team, he later opted to represent Wales and played at under-17 and under-21 levels before making his debut for the senior national team in November 2018. Matondo was born in Liverpool, England but moved to south-east Wales as a child. He grew up in the Tremorfa area of Cardiff where he first played football in local parks with his father and brothers. His father Dada played football in his native DR Congo. Two of his brothers, Cedrick and Japhet, also played football at youth level. As a teenager he attended Llanishen High School. Matondo was eligible to represent DR Congo, England or Wales at international level. He represented England at under-15 level before switching allegiance to Wales at under-17 level. He made 10 appearances for the under-17 team. He received his first call up to the Wales under-21 squad in September 2017, making his debut for the side in a 3–1 victory over Liechtenstein. After appearing in four qualifying matches as a substitute, he made his first start for the under-21 side in a 1–1 draw with Georgia in the second of two friendlies against the nation in June 2018. He played eight games in total at under-21 level. In November 2018, Matondo received his first call up for the senior Welsh squad for a friendly against Albania. He made his international debut during the match on 20 November as a 78th-minute substitute in place of Sam Vokes as Wales lost 1–0 in Elbasan. In May 2019, after travelling back to England from a Welsh national team training camp in Portugal, Matondo was escorted from the plane by police after "behaving disruptively". On 8 October 2020, Matondo started for Wales in a friendly against England. On 1 June 2022, Matondo came on as a half time substitute for Wales in a Nations League Group A game against Poland. Wales lost 2–1 with Matondo providing the assist for Jonny Williams's Wales goal.
