Kobbie Mainoo won’t be suiting up for England’s latest World Cup matchday squad, sidelined yet again by injury. For a 20-year-old once considered the future of English midfield, the pattern is becoming uncomfortably familiar.
The Manchester United midfielder hasn’t logged a single minute under head coach Thomas Tuchel during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He was included in the squad, technically, but his body had other plans.
The injury that ruled him out of the current matchday squad follows a calf problem that kept him out in December 2025. Before that, a series of muscle injuries dotted his 2024 and 2025 campaigns. Go back further and you’ll find an ankle issue in 2023.
Tuchel has opted for Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson in midfield instead.
England fans, predictably, are not thrilled. Many have called the entire saga “insulting,” pointing to Mainoo’s obvious talent and questioning why he was brought into the squad at all if he wasn’t fit to play.
