The Telegraph’s chief football writer, Sam Wallace, has stated that starting Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo for England would go against manager Gareth Southgate’s instincts. Despite only playing half-time in England’s final group game against Slovenia and being a substitute in the previous match, Mainoo gave a confident performance that led to calls for him to start England’s next match.
According to Wallace, Southgate tends to be a cautious manager and typically plays a defensive-minded midfielder alongside Declan Rice. However, Wallace believes that Mainoo, who is more attacking in his career, earned the opportunity to start based on his performance. Wallace spoke about this on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast and explained that Southgate usually opts for players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher in the second midfield role. However, he acknowledged that Mainoo’s style of play as a number eight goes against Southgate’s instincts.
Despite this discrepancy between the two styles of play, Wallace believes that Mainoo’s strong performance justified earning a starting spot in the next match for England. It seems like there may be some debate within the team over whether or not to start Mainoo due to his attacking nature compared to Southgate’s preference for defensive-minded players.