Man Utd's 18-year-old midfielder surprised when called up to England team

Kobbie Mainoo was surprised and excited when coach Gareth Southgate called him up to the England team to prepare for two friendly matches against Brazil on March 23 and Belgium on March 26.

Mainoo was initially named in the England Under-21 squad, but has been called up by Southgate for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. With none of England's initial 25 players needing injury, Southgate's inclusion of the 18-year-old midfielder shows how highly he rates Mainoo's ability.

On March 19, Mainoo was greeted by his Man Utd team-mate Harry Maguire and Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka as the Three Lions gathered in Staffordshire. In an Instagram post, the 18-year-old wrote: "It's an honour to be called up to the national team for the first time."

Mainoo (right) during his first training session with the England team at Saint George's Park. Photo: England

Speaking in a quick interview outside England's St George Park base, Mainoo said he received a text message from Southgate's assistant Steve Holland as he joined up with the Under-21s. "Steve told me to come and see him in reception and tell him I had been called up and would be with the squad," the 18-year-old midfielder said. "I was surprised, but excited for the week ahead." Mainoo added that his family were excited about his first call-up to the senior squad.

Mainoo has represented England at Under-17 and Under-19 level, but has never played for the Under-20 or Under-21 teams. According to Sportsmail last month, Mainoo is also being considered by Ghana, for whom he is eligible. Randy Abbey, a member of the Ghana Football Association's executive committee, told The Times that they were hoping to persuade the 18-year-old midfielder to play for the African side.

But those hopes were dashed when Southgate handed Mainoo his debut. Under FIFA rules, a player can change nationality at any time if they only play in friendly matches, while under-21s can also switch countries after three years if they have played fewer than three competitive matches.

Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo scores the winning goal for Man Utd in a 4-3 victory over Wolves in round 22 of the Premier League at Molineux Stadium on February 1. Photo: Reuters

When announcing his England squad last week, Southgate said of the decision not to call up Mainoo: "Mainoo is doing brilliantly for a young player. We're never too late to bring a young player into the squad, but he's only played a few games. You have to be careful about making those decisions at the right time and ideally we should give him the space to develop at his own pace."

Mainoo signed his first professional contract with United in May 2022 and was promoted to the first team five months later. The England midfielder has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season, including a dramatic 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Old Trafford last weekend.

Hong Duy

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