Kobbie Mainoo: Man Utd midfielder handed first England call-up after being

Manchester United midfielder had been part of the England Under-21s group but has been drafted into Gareth Southgate’s squad for games against Brazil and Belgium; Mainoo’s late addition follows an impressive performance in epic FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool

Kobbie Mainoo has been handed his first senior England call-up.

Manchester United’s 18-year-old midfielder was part of the Under-21s but has been drafted into Gareth Southgate’s squad for the March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Mainoo’s late addition to the senior group follows an impressive performance against Liverpool in Sunday’s epic 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win.

In a post on Instagram, Mainoo wrote: “It’s an honour to receive my first senior call-up.”

The rest of England’s now 26-player group reported to St George’s Park on Tuesday.

The England manager praised Mainoo last week when addressing his initial decision to leave him out of the squad.

“I think Kobbie is doing brilliantly for a young player,” said Southgate. “We’re never slow to put a young player into the seniors, but he’s only had a handful of games. You have to be careful in making those decisions at the right time, and ideally we should allow him the space to develop at his own speed.

“He’s not at the point in terms of number of games that Jude [Bellingham] or Bukayo [Saka] were when they first came in, but I repeat – he’s doing really well, he’s a good footballer, you can see that, and he’s getting some fabulous experience with Man Utd and looks a good character.”

Mainoo has represented England at U17 and U19 level but could make his senior international debut without having played for the U21s.

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