Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has been ruled out of England’s final World Cup match through injury, having not played a single minute at the tournament
Kobbie Mainoo failed to play a minute for England in this summer’s World Cup(Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)
Kobbie Mainoo has been ruled out of England’s final match at the World Cup through injury. A personally disastrous tournament for the Manchester United star looks to have ended miserably.
Despite enjoying an excellent campaign for United under Michael Carrick, England boss Thomas Tuchel chose not to deploy Mainoo in any capacity throughout the competition. He has not kicked a single ball for the Three Lions in the USA and Mexico, and will not do so in the third-place play-off against France.
Before the World Cup, he started the 1-0 friendly victory over New Zealand and came off the bench in the following warm-up game against Costa Rica. Nevertheless, Tuchel did not play him for one single minute in the competition, even turning to Reece James, a right-back by trade, as a midfield option ahead of the United academy graduate.
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The official England men’s football team X account confirmed the injury by tweeting: “Kobbie Mainoo is ruled out of today’s matchday squad to face France due to injury.”
The tweet did not explain what the injury is and how serious it is for the 21-year-old. What is clear is that this tournament has been one to forget for the United academy graduate.
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At the European Championship, he anchored England’s midfield alongside Declan Rice from the round-of-16 triumph over Slovakia, all the way to the final against Spain. Mainoo has 14 international caps for his country, but has not been able to add to his tally across the pond.
The youngster has found himself stuck behind Rice and new Manchester City midfielder Elliot Anderson, who have been Tuchel’s go-to midfield partnership. However, when Tuchel has turned to his bench, he has preferred to play Eberechi Eze, James, Morgan Rogers and Jordan Henderson in his midfield three.
Mainoo may have thought an opportunity was on the horizon when Henderson was ruled out for the entire tournament after breaking his wrist in a freak accident while celebrating England’s 3-2 round of 16 victory against Mexico.
The Daily Mail recently claimed Mainoo was anticipated to start in England’s clash against Ghana, which the Three Lions drew 0-0, but Tuchel opted to stay with Rice after being left unhappy by Mainoo’s displays in training.
With the tournament coming to an end, Gary Neville believes the United ace will be after an explanation from Tuchel for his lack of involvement.
Neville, while speaking on the Overlap about the levels of exhaustion during England’s semi-final loss to Argentina, said: “You look at today, Declan definitely, he’s not been right since day one, has he?
“That’s a big problem for us. Him not having the energy and the speed to get to the ball. We know what he’s like; he’s a fantastic player.
“Kobbie Mainoo would be asking a question, wouldn’t he? You’d be wanting answers if you’re Kobbie Mainoo after not coming on at all. Because he can handle the ball a bit as well.”
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