The Curious Case of Kobbie Mainoo at the World Cup

Thomas Tuchel ignored a player whose skillset was exactly what England needed against Argentina.

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

Manchester United fans had seen this movie once already … Kobbie Mainoo left out in the cold when common logic screamed that he should have been on the pitch.

But when England needed a composed midfield presence to see out 40 minutes more of what was on track to be a first World Cup semifinal win in men’s soccer in 60 years, Thomas Tuchel was more Ruben Amorim than Michael Carrick.

With England leading 1–0 against Argentina, Tuchel ignored Mainoo. Instead, he turned to Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly to try and keep the reigning champion at bay rather than maintain control of the ball. That tactic had worked against Mexico and Norway, but Argentina—with Lionel Messi suddenly free of the shackles of the opening hour—proved a different beast.

Right before the equalizing goal from Enzo Fernández, England was lined up in a 5-4-1, with six defenders on the pitch—four of them center backs by trade.

Once England cleared the ball from the box, it came right back every time. It was relentless. There was no way to keep possession, with Declan Rice a fitness doubt in the buildup and eventually brought off three minutes before the Fernández strike. Elliot Anderson and Jude Bellingham had run themselves into the ground and had nothing more left to give.

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England Left Crying Out for Mainoo’s Skillset

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

Mainoo watched it all unfold from the bench. Through seven matches at this World Cup, the Manchester United midfielder is yet to play a single minute.

He is the sole midfielder in the England squad not to get on the pitch at all. Jordan Henderson, aged 36, broke his wrist so badly in the postgame celebrations against Mexico it required surgery. But he had earlier been brought on for the final minutes of the dead rubber win over Panama.

Defender Trevoh Chalobah, who was only called into the squad the day before England’s opening game as an emergency injury replacement, is the only other outfield player without a minute to his name—22 have played. The two others in that boat are backup goalkeepers Dean Henderson and James Trafford, who wouldn’t reasonably have expected to have play in the tournament anyway.

Mainoo might yet play in Saturday’s third-fourth playoff against France, also likely to field the second string, but it is no more than scant consolation when the real tournament is already over.

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Tuchel Ignores Mainoo Predecent

Mainoo was given the opportunity to rebuild his Man Utd career. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

This has been a truly bizarre 12 months for Mainoo.

His first start of the 2025–26 Premier League didn’t come until after Amorim left Manchester United on January 4. Darren Fletcher started the ball rolling by naming Mainoo in the XI that began an FA Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, but Michael Carrick then didn’t let a lack of match practice over the preceding few months get in the way of an incredible resurrection.

Carrick saw fit to start Mainoo for a Manchester derby in his first game in charge and the homegrown talent thrived. He covered ground all over the pitch and misplaced only three passes all game.

After that Mainoo never looked back and was never out of the team—he started every remaining Premier League fixture and played 90 minutes in almost all of them.

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Tuchel was sufficiently swayed by Mainoo’s club form that a first England selection in 18 months came his way for March internationals against Japan and Uruguay—the last set of matches before the manager named his World Cup squad in May.

With Manchester United finishing the Premier League campaign in third place and Mainoo instrumental, his spot on the plane to the U.S. was hardly surprising in the end.

Even when he wound up not starting the early group matches against Croatia and Ghana, fans were hopeful of seeing a similar story arc to his England breakout at Euro 2024, when Mainoo came into the XI once the knockouts began and flourished as the team reached the final.

He will return to club duty a key player once more this upcoming season, with Carrick installed as manager on a permanent contract. But his England prospects hang in the balance for as long as Tuchel sticks around or learns from World Cup mistakes.

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