.
Subscribe to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter for no cost, delivered directly to your email.
Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter from Miguel’s Delaney.
18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who has been making waves at Manchester United, has received his first call-up to England’s senior team. This increases his chances of being chosen for Euro 2024.
Mainoo is enjoying a breakout season at Old Trafford, where he has become an integral part of the first team under manager Erik ten Hag. The teenager, who joined United aged nine, was exceptional in Sunday’s dramatic FA Cup quarter-final victory over Liverpool, illustrating his remarkable ability to perform at the highest level at such a young age.
On Tuesday, the remaining 25 players from the England squad arrived at St George’s Park to prepare for the upcoming friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley. These matches will be the last before Gareth Southgate selects the provisional squad for Euro 2024 in May. Mainoo, who was previously a part of the Under-21s, has also joined the group.
Mainoo received a message from Steve Holland, who is the assistant manager. Holland asked Mainoo to meet him at reception. Holland informed Mainoo that he had been summoned to join the squad and would be training with them for the week. Mainoo expressed his excitement, although he admitted that it hadn’t fully registered yet.
There have been no reported injuries in the England team, so Mainoo has not been chosen as a substitute. It’s possible that Southgate reconsidered including the midfielder, since he was not initially selected for the team announced last week.
At the time, Southgate stated, “He has only played a few games and we must be cautious in making development decisions at the appropriate time. Ideally, we should give him the space to develop at his own pace. He has not reached the level of club games that Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka had when they made their debuts.”
Kobbie Mainoo poses for photos at St George’s Park after his late call-up
The England coach is worried about the central midfield position due to the uncertain performances of Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips this year. Both Conor Gallagher from Chelsea and Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool are potential candidates to partner with Declan Rice in the middle, but there is a shortage of players in the two preferred roles by Southgate.
Recently, there has been increasing demand for Mainoo to be given an opportunity to play at the senior international level, as he has previously played for England’s youth teams. After United’s victory over Liverpool, pundit and former England striker Ian Wright expressed his disappointment in Mainoo’s absence from the squad in a video shared on social media, saying, “How is Kobbie Mainoo not included… Give him a chance, huh? The man was exceptional today.”
Mainoo, a midfielder, was born in Stockport to parents from Ghana. The Ghana Football Association has shown interest in him, calling him an “amazingly talented” player.
Currently, he has the opportunity to receive his first appearance for England in either of the two upcoming friendly matches. Furthermore, he has a legitimate possibility of being chosen to compete in the Euro tournament held in Germany. England’s schedule involves a game against Brazil this Saturday followed by a match against the Belgians next Tuesday.
On Tuesday 21 May, Southgate will reveal a “training squad” after the end of the Premier League season. The England team will have warm-up games against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 June and Iceland on 6 June, and the official 23-player squad must be finalized by 8 June.
On the start of Friday, June 14, the Euro 2024 tournament commences with Germany facing Scotland in Munich. The next night, England will compete against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, followed by matches against Denmark and Slovenia, who are also in Group C.
Source: independent.co.uk
