Man United starlet hands Southgate selection headache as key stat emerges

Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was a substitute in England’s two European Championship group-stage matches against Serbia and Slovenia, coming on from the bench to give the Three Lions more impetus and control.

However, the 19-year-old proved his mettle and solidified his place in the starting line-up with a sensational display against Slovakia as England stuttered into the quarter-final.

He became the third youngest player to start for England in a knockout round game at a major tournament but looked years above his age.

Replacing Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, Maino completed 65 of 68 passes in his 84 minutes on the field for the Three Lions.

He had misplaced just one place when he replaced Gallagher in the Slovenia game while completing 100% of his passes against Serbia.

The Stockport-born star has completed 100/104 passes at Euro 2024 (96.2% accuracy), the best pass completion rate for any midfielder at the tournament.

England manager Gareth Southgate has experimented with Gallagher and Trent Alexander-Arnold through the centre, but they failed to deliver the goods.

Mainoo should be undroppable for Southgate heading into the deeper rounds of the tournament.

Gallagher is an energetic option off the bench, and Alexander-Arnold is a right-back. The Man United star should be the established partner for Declan Rice in Southgate’s midfield.

Besides his passing, Mainoo was excellent against Slovakia, winning four out of six duels while completing 100% of his dribbles. He also provided one key pass and completed one long ball out of the two he attempted.

The Man United academy graduate has continued to build on an excellent campaign for the Red Devils in which he became a pivotal part of manager Erik ten Hag’s squad. He took a place in the starting XI and hasn’t looked back.

Mainoo will hope Southgate keeps faith in him as England clash with Switzerland this Saturday, July 6. Key stats show Mainoo is undroppable for England.