Kobbie Mainoo: The 'humble and respectful' teenager at ease on the biggest stage

Kobbie Mainoo's relentless rise continued over the weekend as the teenager became the third-youngest player to start a major tournament knockout game for England.

The 19-year-old was in Gareth Southgate's side in their dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over Slovakia, just 217 days after making his first Premier League start for Manchester United.

Only Michael Owen at the 1998 World Cup and Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004 were younger when they made their debut on such a stage for England, who now prepare for a quarter-final clash with Switzerland.

Mainoo did not waste his chances of playing on Saturday with a quiet performance in the last 16 that came as no surprise to those who helped oversee his rise through the United ranks.

“He's a laid-back character off the pitch,” academy director Nick Cox told the PA news agency. “He's not loud or boisterous.

“He has a playful side, he can be a cheeky little boy sometimes, but he is a very respectful, humble and quite stable child.

“The number one ingredient to being a footballer is: 'Can you stay stable and consistent when the world around you is quite crazy and a bit of a rollercoaster?'

“But I think when he's on the pitch he's really confident.

“There's humility off the pitch but as soon as he crosses the line I think he's got real confidence in himself – not arrogance but a real confidence in his ability to deal with whatever comes his way and he's shown that.”

Cox says Mainoo looks “very much in his comfort zone” on the biggest stages, including scoring in a man-of-the-match performance as United beat rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May.

The 19-year-old has been a Red Devils fan since childhood and would have made more than 35 first-team appearances for the club had he not suffered a freak ankle ligament injury in a pre-season friendly last July.

As part of his return to form, Mainoo has once again played under manager Travis Binnion, having won the FA Youth Cup with the academy's head of player development and coaching in 2022.

“The thing with Kobbie is we knew he was good, he knew he was good, so it’s about working hard, working on his game,” Binnion said of the midfielder, who has played for him in the EFL Trophy and UEFA Youth League this season.

“But what you have as a football club is that if you keep progressing, there is an innate belief that you will play. He carries that confidence all the way through.

“He believes he's going to play since he was maybe eight years old, but certainly since I came to the club at 14.

“That was the projection, but the humility that comes with it ensures that we don’t get derailed and he doesn’t get derailed. It’s the environment.

“The boy is special in terms of his vision and his demeanour but the club are determined to say to him: 'You will get an opportunity – we don't know when, but you better be ready and that's what it takes to be ready'.

Mainoo's attitude is as impressive as his ability on the pitch, his willingness to learn helping him turn this breakthrough campaign into a dream season.

The midfielder caught the eye of United manager Erik ten Hag during a training camp in Spain during the 2022 World Cup, with the senior players also quickly seeing the value in his game.

Academy director Cox said: “What really, really helped him is I think because he’s a willing lad, a respectful lad, a good learner and obviously a decent footballer, the top players really gravitated towards him.

“They were defending him then, they wanted him to succeed.

“I think Casemiro, Bruno (Fernandes) and other players like him have been great in this last stage of the transition to this level on a daily basis.

“It's to his credit because he's had the opportunity to play there (in the first team) and show he's the real player, but it's to their credit that they've almost nurtured him.

“Because it's the last step that's the hardest. You have to make sure everything goes as planned, that the manager believes in you and wants to start you. The first few days, when you're trying to find your place in the first team, are tough.”