Kobbie Mainoo reveals unusual way he found out about England call-up which most players don't experience

Kobbie Mainoo has revealed he found out about his shock first England call-up via a very unusual method.

The Manchester United midfielder is enjoying a breakout campaign and will be part of the Three Lions setup for upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

England manager Gareth Southgate initially left Mainoo out of his 25-man squad. He instead was called up for the U21s' games against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg.

Southgate has now increased his squad size from 25 to 26 to include Mainoo.

The 18-year-old impressed in United's 4-3 win over Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Mainoo came off to a standing ovation from the home crowd, a sign that he's become a key player at such a young age under Erik ten Hag.

He's still a humble lad amid the hype. Speaking to England's official X account, Mainoo admitted he learned about the call-up in person at St. George's Park.

"Yeah, it's a bit different!" Mainoo said. "I got called up to the U21s and then got a text from Steve Holland [assistant manager]. He told me to meet him in the reception and just told me I've been called up and I'm gonna be with the squad for the week. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but I'm excited."

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England players don't learn about their call-ups in person. It shows how much faith Southgate has in Mainoo to make a difference to his squad.

Mainoo is eligible to play international football for Ghana through his parents but could now make his international debut against Brazil on Saturday evening.

When asked about Mainoo's initial omission from the England squad on Thursday, Southgate replied: "I think that he's doing brilliantly for a young player and we're never slow to put a young player into seniors, but he's only had a handful of games.

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"You have to be very careful development-wise in making those decisions at the right time.

"So we think, ideally, we should allow him that space to develop at his own speed. He's not at the point in terms of number of games that Jude (Bellingham) and Bukayo (Saka) were when they came in for the first time.

"But I repeat: he's doing really well for a young player. He's a good footballer — you can see that.

"And he's getting some fabulous experience with Manchester United at the moment. And he looks a really good character."

Topics: England, Manchester United, Kobbie Mainoo, Gareth Southgate

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_