SportFootballKobbie MainooKobbie Mainoo was the only outfielder in Thomas Tuchel's England squad not to play a single minute at the World Cup, and he missed out on featuring in the third-place play-off due to injury09:23, 19 Jul 2026Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Kobbie Mainoo picked up a back injury the day before England's third-place play-off against France. Mainoo, 21, watched from the bench all World Cup but missed out on making his first appearance at the tournament as the Three Lions came out on the right side of 6-4 thriller in Miami.‌Tuchel made seven changes to his starting line-up and even gave Trevoh Chalobah - the only other outfielder in his 26-man squad not to have featured - a cameo in the closing stages. But injury struck at the cruellest time for Mainoo, who forced his way back into the England squad after a strong second half of the season for Manchester United.‌"Kobbie was injured in the last training session yesterday morning," Tuchel revealed following Saturday's win. "He had a sharp pain in the back within the training and he was not ready to play."‌Mainoo's injury also gives United a concern, although he wasn't expected to link back up with his team-mates for a number of weeks. The midfielder's absence at the World Cup has been a talking point since England were beaten 2-1 in the semi-finals by Argentina, with many pundits arguing that Mainoo should've come on as a substitute to help see the game out before Argentina's comeback.FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE! Latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook page‌Former United captain Gary Neville claimed on the Stick to Football podcast: "Honestly, we were absolutely dead out on our feet. We couldn't get out of the box."We literally get pushed back, and then the midfield players sag back onto you because their legs have gone. You look at today, Declan definitely, he's not been right since day one, has he?"That's a big problem for us. Him not having the energy and the speed to get to the ball. Kobbie Mainoo would be asking a question, wouldn't he?"‌Should Kobbie Mainoo have played more at the World Cup? Have your say in the comments section.Meanwhile, ex-United midfielder Nicky Butt suggested that Mainoo should've 'refused' to play in the third-place play-off. "I'd just refuse to play if I was Kobbie Mainoo. I'd say I was injured," Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.Article continues below"It's a nonsense game, especially when you've been treated like that. He's not played a minute of football, now to go and start this pointless jumped-up friendly and potentially get injured for the whole season… no."Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. 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.‌Thomas TuchelKobbie MainooManchester United FCEngland football team