Kobbie Mainoo quickly showed off his skills after coming on as a substitute to play his first game for England.
The 18-year-old’s first season as a senior football player has been very busy so far. Earlier this week, Mainoo was promoted to Gareth Southgate’s team after being named to the Under-21 group.
Mainoo was put on the bench for England’s friendly with Brazil at Wembley because Jordan Henderson was hurt and couldn’t play.
About twenty-five minutes into the game, Mainoo came on to replace Conor Gallagher in the middle of the field and made an instant impact.
In a video that has since gotten a lot of attention on social media When Mainoo gets the ball with his back to the goal, he cleverly gets past Joao Gomes, who is also making his debut, and then drives up the field.
Fans were very excited about England’s newest rising star after the move, which was widely shared on social media.
One person wrote, “The kids are world-class.” Generational skill
Someone else agreed and said, “He goes to work right away.” We have a great player.
“If they had played Kobbie from the start, it would have been different,” said another fan. Brazil had lost all six games and was in terrible shape. It should have been easy for us to beat them after 20 or more wins in a row.
Southgate had a lot of good things to say about the young player after the game: “Kobbie was a chance to dip his toes.”
“We needed to rest some players because we need to keep an eye on their minutes. It’s a strange situation for a game that size, but that’s where we are.”
“Getting Kobbie on the field was a great moment for him and his family.” You saw a few turns and some really calm times that give you an idea of what he could potentially become.
Fans of Mainoo’s act were blown away on social media, but on Saturday night, it was another teenager who made the news.
Emerick, a young Brazilian star, scored the only goal of the game after coming on as a replacement. He was the youngest player in history to score an international goal at Wembley.