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United Legend praises Mainoo for his performance against Slovakia

England took on Slovakia in their round of 16 clash in Euro 2024. The Three lions had a very tense game as they were on backfoot the whole time. However some of the England players had a very good game. One of them is Kobbie Mainoo who received a lot of praise from Manchester United legend.

England conceded a goal in 25th minute. Ivan Schranz gave Slovakia lead which they preserved for a very long time. It was in the 90+5’th minute when Jude Bellingham scored a spectacular overhead kick and equalised for England. The game then had to be decided on extra time. It was not long when Harry Kane scored a goal in the first minute of first half of extra time and gave the three lions lead. England went on to win the match and will now face Switzerland in quarter finals.

Kobbie Mainoo started the game against Slovakia after Gareth Southgate’s failed experiments to pair Declan Rice with Trent Alexander Arnold and Conor Gallagher. The 19 year old midfielder didn’t disappoint and put on a superb performance. Mainoo has been receiving praise from many of the football greats.

United Legend Rio Ferdinand praises Mainoo

Rio Ferdinand took a moment to praise Kobbie Mainoo. In the podcast with FIVE, Ferdinand said that Mainoo was the best player. He also said that he loved Mainoo’s performance and attitude and compared him with one of the football greats Clarence Seedorf. Ferdinand even talked about Mainoo’s family and said the player has got a very humble family.

“He has just got a maturity to his game that it is just like, wow” – Rio Ferdinand speaking about Kobbie Mainoo.

Speaking about Mainoo performance, Ferdinand said that the youngster has got a bit of Seedorf in him. In addition he said, Mainoo still has long way to reach Dutchman’s levels but his style of play and decision making are similar to that of Seedorf.

Mainoo against Slovakia

Gareth Southgate started Trent Alexander Arnold in the starting two matches alongside Declan Rice. However the linking between the two players was not very good so the manager decided to start Conor Gallagher in the last match of group stage. However that too didn’t work out resulting in Southgate choosing Kobbie Mainoo as starter against Slovakia. Coming from making a good name with United, Mainoo didn’t disappoint as he had a very good performance in England’s round of 16 clash.

Mainoo achieved an overall 7.1 rating. The 19 year old youngster played 84 minutes and achieved 77 touches. He completed 65 out of 68 passes earning 96% passing accuracy. Maino provided 1 key pass along with 1 long ball. He was equally effective in defending winning 3 out of 5 ground duels and 1 out 1 ariel duel. Mainoo blocked 1 shot along with making 1 tackle and 1 interception. The youngster also completed 1 out of 1 attempted dribble.

What others think of Mainoo’s performance

Former United captain Roy Keane has been absolutely impressed by Mainoo’s performance. Keane said that Mainoo is doing the stuff that took him 10 years to learn.

Jack Wilshere praising Mainoo said that England need to build their team around him. In addition, Wilshere said that Mainoo has a fearlessness and instinct to do the right things at right times. Wilshere then said that Mainoo is type of player England wanted from a very long time.

England manager Gareth Southgate has a huge faith in Mainoo. Southgate said that Mainoo looks very comfortable in England shirt. The English manager then added that Mainoo had very huge games for the club in recent times and the young midfielder will definately be comfortable in England national team’s environment.

Mainoo is expected to start against Switzerland in quarter finals on saturday. The Three Lions are three wins away from winning their first major tournament after 1966.

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