- Gareth Southgate says Kobbie Mainoo is eligible to start at Euro 2024
- Mainoo was awarded his third England cap when the Three Lions faced Iceland
- click here to follow the Mail Sport Euro 2024 WhatsApp channel for all the latest news and updates from Germany
England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed he would have no hesitation in starting Kobbie Mainoo at the 2024 European Championship.
Mainoo, who enjoyed a fantastic breakthrough campaign for Manchester United, was named in the England starting line-up for the final warm-up match at home to Iceland on Friday, where the Three Lions were defeated 1-0.
Despite the fact that Mainoo is only 19 years old and making only his third appearance for England, Southgate stated that the player is eligible to start against Serbia on June 16.
Southgate told Channel 4: ‘We wouldn’t hesitate to start him. He has shown incredible maturity, moving the ball forward quickly. He had two fantastic performances here in March.’
As Southgate said, Mainoo stood out in his first two games for England against Brazil and Belgium in March.
Gareth Southgate says he would have no hesitation in starting Kobbie Mainoo at the European Championships
Southgate gave Mainoo his third England cap for the home match against Iceland on Wednesday
There is a lot of competition for places in England and it will be intriguing to see if Mainoo can establish himself in the team over the course of the tournament.
Mainoo has won many admirers with his calmness.
It was a meteoric rise for the prospect, who jumped straight from the England U19 squad to the senior squad.
During an excellent individual season with United, which ended with winning the FA Cup, Mainoo made 32 appearances in all competitions.
England were booed by fans at Wembley on Friday evening, with Southgate admitting he understood their frustrations.
Speaking about the defeat and the supporters’ reaction, Southgate said: ‘I completely understand (the booing). We didn’t play well enough to keep them excited during the game.
Southgate admitted he understood the negative reaction from the crowd on Friday evening
‘We had some very, very good chances that would normally have been cleared, which could have given a different color to the game and obviously affected the opponent’s confidence.
‘But that would have masked some shortcomings that were evident tonight. From my perspective, I learned a lot from the game.
“It does focus the mind on the fact that any complacency about that talent is going to get us this trophy and all we have to do is walk in… that’s not football. You have to be perfect in every aspect of the game to win a game at this level and we fell well short of that tonight and Iceland deserved their win.