Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo has revealed his shock at being handed his first senior England call-up.
Manchester United’s 18-year-old midfielder, Kobbie Mainoo, was part of the Under-21s. Surprisingly he has been drafted into Gareth Southgate’s squad for the March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
The midfielder, who has burst onto the scene this season, was originally called into Lee Carsley’s Under 21 party – but was handed a promotion into Gareth Southgate’s squad on Tuesday ahead of the games 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.
He was pictured greeting United team-mate Harry Maguire and Arsenal‘s Bukayo Saka as the squad checked in at their Staffordshire base ahead of the Wembley double-header.
Speaking outside St George’s Park, Mainoo said: ‘It’s a bit different. I mean, I got called up to the under-21s and then got a text from Steve Holland [Southgate’s assistant].
‘He told me to come to meet him in the reception and just told me that I’ve been called up and that I’m going to be with the squad for the week”.
‘I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet but I’m excited for the week.’
In a post on Instagram, Mainoo wrote: “It’s an honour to receive my first senior call-up.”
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. 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 made 20 appearance for United this season, including their dramatic 4-3 win over rivals Liverpool in their FA Cup quarter-final clash.
The senior side play Brazil on Saturday and Belgium next Tuesday to continue preparations for this summer’s European Championship in Germany.