England head coach Gareth Southgate gave two (2) solid reasons why Manchester United 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo could go to The UEFA European Football Championship

Kobbie Mainoo is having a big year at Manchester United, and he reached another important goal by playing for England.

Gareth Southgate hailed Kobbie Mainoo, a young player for Manchester United, for being able to “receive the ball under pressure, ride challenges and be able to play the ball in tight areas.”

For United, Mainoo has gotten into the first team this season. Erik ten Hag would have used him sooner if he hadn’t hurt his ankle against Real Madrid in pre-season.

The 18-year-old has been seen as the most exciting young player in the school for a long time. He is now one of the first names on the team sheet at Old Trafford, and on Tuesday night he made his full England debut against Belgium at Wembley.

There was a small chance that Mainoo would make England’s European Championship team this summer, but his chances have grown since he’s been playing this week.

They really like the player at St. George’s Park, and Southgate said nice things about Mainoo for the same reasons United fans really like him.

“His attributes are there for everybody to see, that ability to receive under pressure and ride challenges, to manipulate the ball in tight areas,” he said about Mainoo.

“There’s no doubt that we were a little more open; we wanted to press them hard, and there were times when we lost the ball on the edge of their box. We had chances that we should have taken, but Tielemans and Mangala pulling wide caused us some problems.”

“But [Mainoo] is a different kind of midfielder than anyone else we have, and we’re happy with what he’s done.” He’s done a great job of adapting and adjusting. You would never guess his age; he’s just taken it all in ease.

The England goalie Jordan Pickford said, “He’s great.” He ruled the game pretty much from the start when he played his first game for Manchester United against Everton earlier this season.

Since then, he hasn’t been outside. After coming in, I think he did the same thing he did at Man United. You can tell he’s very good.

Mainoo came off the bench against Brazil last weekend, and he played his first full game against Belgium, where family and friends were in attendance.