Topics: England, Kobbie Mainoo, Euro 2024
Kobbie Mainoo has made European Championship history with his performances for England at Euro 2024.
The Stockport-born midfielder earned his place in Gareth Southgate's final 26-man squad after an impressive breakthrough campaign at Manchester United, where he made 32 appearances in all competitions.
He was used sparingly during England's opener against Serbia, coming on as 86th-minute substitute for Jude Bellingham. In fact, he missed out completely in the 1-1 draw with Denmark.
But after Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled to make an impact in the so-called 'midfield experiment', Mainoo was handed starts against Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland.
Advert
The 19-year-old is really starting to establish himself as a key part of England's midfield at Euro 2024 alongside Declan Rice.
And to put his contribution into perspective, it has emerged that Mainoo's pass accuracy of 96 per cent is the highest Opta has ever recorded for a midfielder in European Championship history.
Mainoo has completed 133 out of 138 passes so far at this summer's tournament; an impressive stat considering the quality on show in Germany.
As pointed out by CBS Sports correspondant James Benge, out of the 132 players to have completed over 100 passes at Euro 2024, Mainoo ranks 131st for proportion of passes forward with 13 per cent.
The teenager has certainly improved the balance of England's midfielder alongside the more defensively-minded Declan Rice, who is a big fan of Manchester United's academy graduate.
Back in March, after Mainoo made his senior debut for the Three Lions in their friendly clash against Brazil, Rice said the "sky is the limit" for his international teammate.
"Every time I've seen him playing for United on the TV, he has been pretty much their best player every game," Rice beamed as he sat next to Gareth Southgate.
"I've been asked a lot by my friends 'what's Mainoo like?' - and he's really, really impressive. I really want him to enjoy his career. I think it's really important that we don't put too much pressure on him.
"He's at one of the biggest clubs in the world, and now he's at England we just want to let him flourish. He's so composed.
"I have come across so many 18-year-olds who are top players but don't have that full package. He's just a really normal kid."
Rice added: "The sky is the limit for him. He's an amazing player and I am looking forward to hopefully playing many games for England with him."
