Tino Livramento was wowed by Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo’s abilities when playing two-touch in training.
The young pair are undergoing their final preparations ahead of England’s World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday night (9pm kick-off).
What did Livramento say about Mainoo?
Speaking on the Lions’ Den episode released this week, the Newcastle United full-back revealed what had impressed him during camp since arriving in the United States, saying: “Seeing Kobbie play two-touch. He’s so good at two-touch. He’d be passing it or flicking it with his ankle and that.”
Assuming he does feature under Thomas Tuchel in the coming weeks, Mainoo will have represented the Three Lions at two major tournaments at only 21 years of age.
At Euro 2024, he impressed so much in his early cameos that Gareth Southgate opted to start him from the last-16 all the way to the final, where England fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spain.
Caps Starts Substituted on
14 9 5
Mainoo’s record for England before the World Cup
Itremains to be seen what kind of role the Carrington graduate will play this time around, with it widely anticipated that Declan Rice will be starting alongside Elliot Anderson.
Jordan Henderson also controversially earned a call-up, so he may be used with Mainoo in rotation.
Which teammates might Mainoo face while on World Cup duty?
Mainoo is the only current United player to have been included in Tuchel’s selection, along with on-loan Marcus Rashford, who’s facing an uncertain future with Barcelona.
Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were unfortunate to miss out, especially given the latter had just overseen a career-first by starting all 38 Premier League fixtures.
I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision.
I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years.
I wish the players, all the… pic.twitter.com/9X7asAkCFF
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) May 21, 2026
The Reds’ other representatives on the world’s biggest stage include club captain Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot (Portugal), Lisandro Martinez with reigning champions Argentina, Casemiro and Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Senne Lammens (Belgium), Altay Bayindir (Turkey), Manuel Ugarte (Uruguay), Tyler Fletcher (Scotland), and Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco).
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Harry Maguire looking dejected
Isabel, 25, is a football writer who has previously gained experience in the industry as the editor of Stretty News, along with work on Caught Offside, Last Word on Football and Give Me Sport. She is now the editor of UtdReport.
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