NO MATTER what happens, a teenage prodigy who has taken club and international football by storm will celebrate later this evening in Berlin.
Whether that’s Lamine Yamal or Kobbie Mainoo remains to be seen.
One might be more eye-catching and headline-grabbing than the other, but make no mistake — Mainoo is just as important for England as his fellow sensation is for Spain.
Yamal may be over two years younger, but his path to the starting XI for his country has been much more straightforward.
The 16-year-old has featured in all six of Spain’s matches at Euro 2024. Aside from the Albania fixture where he was rested and came off the bench, the Barcelona youngster has been one of the first names on the team sheet — a testament to coach Luis de la Fuente’s faith in youth.
Mainoo, by contrast, has had to be patient.
The midfielder has had an excellent season at club level.
Like Yamal at Barcelona, his senior debut for Man United came at a ridiculously young age. In January 2023, he made his first appearance in a 3-0 EFL Cup win over Charlton, starting that game three months shy of his 18th birthday.
The following month saw his Premier League debut off the bench in a 3-0 victory over Leicester City.
However, in November of the most recent top-flight campaign, Mainoo established himself as a first-team regular, starting a 3-0 win away at Everton, earning the man-of-the-match award and scarcely looking back since.
The plan at United has been to integrate Mainoo into the first team sooner, but an unfortunately timed ankle injury suffered during the club’s summer tour of the US meant he missed a large chunk of the season’s first half.
The campaign could have hardly gone much better for Mainoo.
He finished the season with five goals and 32 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils.
By the season’s end, he was starting in midfield ahead of more experienced campaigners like Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount.
2023-24 was a hugely inconsistent period for United. It was the club’s worst-ever Premier League season as they came eighth in the table — not since the 13th-place finish in the 1989-90 campaign under Alex Ferguson had they performed worse.
And yet, Mainoo was a consistent bright spark despite so many star names around him struggling, earning countless plaudits including a Young Player of the Season nomination.
He was also pivotal to many of United’s best moments — a 97th-minute winner in the 4–3 away victory over Wolves, starting and scoring in the 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Man City et cetera.
But despite a phenomenal few months, Mainoo was far from a nailed-on starter for England going into Euro 2024.
He only made his international debut in March and won three caps ahead of the tournament.
Mainoo’s second start for his country came just before the Euros in June. A disappointing display in the 1-0 loss to Iceland seems to have put doubt in Southgate’s mind. It perhaps partially explains why he was reluctant to use him initially at this tournament.
The Man United starlet only made an 86th-minute appearance in the 1-0 win over Serbia, with Trent Alexander-Arnold preferred in midfield.
He was left out entirely of the 1-1 draw with Denmark, and even when the Liverpool man was dropped, Conor Gallagher was chosen to deputise.
Yet from the moment Mainoo came into the team at half-time versus Slovenia, his place has seldom been questioned. It is also no surprise that England have simultaneously improved.
Mainoo has added energy, intelligence and creativity in midfield that Alexander-Arnold and Gallagher struggled to provide. It’s also no surprise that Declan Rice has looked much more assured alongside Mainoo — both have different qualities and complement one another nicely.
The English team consequently acquired a better balance as the tournament developed.
The switch to three at the back employed against Netherlands and Switzerland, the better sides they have faced, has also reaped dividends.
Phil Foden has played with freedom after being afforded a more central role. Bukayo Saka has still looked effective despite moving to right wing-back and Kyle Walker’s defensive solidity has been retained.
But Southgate’s most important change at this tournament has been the introduction of Mainoo.
Since then, the Three Lions have much more control in midfield. It’s not that they struggled for possession in the group stages, but their passing has become more purposeful, there is a greater fluidity to their attack and they generally look more of a threat.
It also helps that compared to the group stage games and the round-of-16 encounter with Slovakia, Switzerland and Netherlands were not just content to try to nick a goal and put bodies behind the ball. So it has been easier for England’s attack to thrive against more open teams with additional space to exploit.
It’s easy to forget that amid a series of assured performances, with the possible exception of the FA Cup final, these are the biggest matches of Mainoo’s career up to this point.
It is an astonishing rise for a player who only hardcore Man United fans will have been aware of this time last year.
His nerveless, buoyant displays epitomise a new English team. In the past, Three Lions sides might have wilted under the pressure of intense media scrutiny or when confronted with a penalty shootout, but this occasion feels different.
And incredibly, Mainoo is one of three important England players who grew up within a five-mile radius in Stockport, along with Phil Foden and Cole Palmer.
Like Yamal at Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, he seemed destined for greatness early on, getting scouted by Man United at age six, signing at seven and joining their academy at nine.
Mainoo might be young but the talented midfielder has spent his life preparing for moments like tonight.
