‘A Feeling’—The Moment That Decided Kobbie Mainoo’s World Cup Fate

A report has theorized why Thomas Tuchel bothered taking the Manchester United star at all.

Kobbie Mainoo (center) didn’t play a single minute across England’s first seven World Cup matches. | Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Only two outfielders failed to earn a single minute of action for England before Wednesday’s semifinal elimination to Argentina: Chelsea’s versatile defender Trevoh Chalobah, a player so hurriedly called up to replace the injured Tino Livramento that he traveled to the U.S. camp without a pair of cleats, and Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo.

Despite “a feeling” within the squad that the 21-year-old was in line for some group stage involvement, a report has claimed that Mainoo’s aspirations were extinguished during one training session which failed to impress Thomas Tuchel.

For much of the 2025–26 season, Mainoo was not a consideration for the World Cup roster. However, Ruben Amorim’s sacking and the appointment of Michael Carrick brought the academy graduate in from the cold at Old Trafford, preceding a commanding conclusion to the club campaign.

Mainoo worked his way back into the international setup, featuring in both March friendlies, before being nominated for the Premier League’s Young Player of the Year award. Tuchel called on the talented midfielder in each pre-World Cup warm-up in June, giving hope that he would have a role to play this summer. He would not.

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Why Kobbie Mainoo Was Snubbed by Thomas Tuchel During 2026 World Cup

Thomas Tuchel (left) prioritized other players. | Nick Potts/PA Images/Getty Images

Tuchel’s distrust in Mainoo can be traced back to one training session after England’s World Cup opener, the Daily Mail has claimed.

After a chaotic 4–2 victory over Croatia, in which Declan Rice had to be taken off in the 72nd minute, England’s coaching staff gave consideration to resting the overworked Arsenal midfielder for the clash with Ghana. Rice openly detailed an ongoing neural pain in his hamstring after the contest, describing the substitution as “smart.”

In the week leading up to the second group game, Tuchel is thought to have trialed Mainoo in the central midfield role previously occupied by Rice alongside Elliot Anderson. According to the report, “Tuchel had not liked what he saw.”

Mainoo and Rice are very different players. The Arsenal star’s strengths lie in his physicality, that lung-busting ability to gobble up large swathes of green grass (on and off the ball) to such an extent that he has been nicknamed “The Horse” by his clubmates. Mainoo’s qualities are more aesthetic than athletic.

Ruben Amorim wants more from Kobbie Mainoo. pic.twitter.com/0ghCIt8XnY

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) September 14, 2025

Concerns over the youngster’s ability to cover ground were first raised by Amorim. “Kobbie is really good at controlling the game, but if he plays as an eight, he has to reach the box and return,” the Portuguese boss fretted. Mainoo’s quality in possession has rarely been in doubt, but that clearly wasn’t enough to convince Tuchel.

Such was his lack of faith, Tuchel started a half-fit Rice against Ghana and every knockout match. When the Premier League champion was given some merciful respite in the group stage finale against Panama, England lined up with two attacking midfielders—Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers—in front of Anderson.

The most telling snub came during the chaotic quarterfinal against Norway. Rice’s muscular issues had been compounded by a bout of illness in the build-up to the game and he was only able to last for the first 45 minutes. At halftime, Tuchel turned to Arsenal playmaker Eberechi Eze. That change completely gutted England’s midfield, and in an attempt to rectify his blunder, the manager sought more central stability. Again Mainoo watched on as Tuchel deployed Reece James—a right back by trade—in midfield.

Even when Ezri Konsa was forced off and James shifted back into defense, Tuchel flung on Rogers, trusting him with an unfamiliar disciplined role alongside Anderson to get Bellingham higher up the pitch. If Mainoo hadn’t got the message already, he certainly had by the end of the match.

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Why Take Mainoo at All?

Kobbie Mainoo did not get on the pitch prior to England’s elimination. | Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Tuchel would have known Mainoo’s strengths and weaknesses before picking him this summer after the pair worked together in March. The diminutive passer was not going to grow a third lung in a matter of months.

One theory put forward from a source cited by The Athletic is that Tuchel thought Mainoo “would be happy to simply be part of a World Cup squad.”

In some ways, it’s an understandable assumption. Only three players younger than Mainoo have started a game for one of the World Cup semifinalists this summer; Spain’s prodigious teenagers Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, as well as two-time Champions League winner Désiré Doué. However, Mainoo has already reached these types of heights before.

At the 2024 European Championship, Mainoo also started the competition on the bench, failing to make a single start in any of England’s group games. Yet, Gareth Southgate was increasingly impressed by his composure on the ball and ultimately named Mainoo in his starting XI for the final. There would be no such trajectory this year.

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