SportFootballGraeme SounessGraeme Souness has questioned why Thomas Tuchel picked Kobbie Mainoo given he's yet to be used by England as the ex-manager hammered home his view on the Manchester United midfielder12:25, 18 Jul 2026Graeme Souness has doubled down on his issues with Kobbie Mainoo and claimed Thomas Tuchel didn't fancy the midfielder when it came to crunch time.‌The Manchester United star, after a difficult first half of the season under Ruben Amorim, was a player reborn under Michael Carrick. He was crucial in the team's renaissance and that form saw him regain a spot in the England squad for the World Cup.‌He started in the Euros final two years ago but has failed to even get on the pitch during the current tournament, with England having only their third place play-off to come. Mainoo and Trevoh Chalobah are the only outfield players who have yet to earn minutes for England this summer.‌Despite being picked by Tuchel, ahead of players like Adam Wharton, Souness claims that the German ultimately didn't want to use the midfielder when England were trying to see out games, despite his ability to keep the ball.Speaking on World Cup Uncensored, the former manager said: "He will have looked at his bench and gone 'I've got to make a change here'. And this is where he is culpable, he has looked at his bench and gone 'Kobbie Mainoo, I'm going to put him on?'"He's panicked and he's loaded it up because he is now thinking 'I've got a whole lot of the game, I can't get the game back and I've now got to nick the game by defending properly like we did in Mexico."‌Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson have been the go to midfield duo for England. Jordan Henderson suffered his arm injury in the aftermath of the Mexico win, meaning he was absent, and that still didn't aid Mainoo's hopes for minutes.Souness has been a vocal critic of Mainoo and doubled down on his take that the United man doesn't understand how to play in midfield.Article continues below"Kobbie Mainoo is a young man who is really good with the ball, but does not know the position," he said. "He doesn't know the position of trying to get that game back on side, he empties the midfield too soon. That's my dislike of Kobbie Mainoo at this moment in time."Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.Content cannot be displayed without consentChoose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Graeme SounessEngland football teamKobbie MainooThomas Tuchel