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Only two outfield players failed to see a single minute of action for England before Wednesday's semifinal exit against Argentina: Chelsea's utility defender Trevoh Chalobah, who was called up so hastily to cover for the injured Tino Livramento that he arrived at the U.S. camp without football boots, and Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo.
Despite "a feeling" within the squad that the 21-year-old was set for some group stage minutes, one report has claimed that Mainoo's hopes were dashed during a single training session that failed to leave a positive impression on Thomas Tuchel.
For much of the 2025–26 season, Mainoo had fallen out of World Cup contention. However, Ruben Amorim's dismissal and the subsequent appointment of Michael Carrick brought the academy product back into the fold at Old Trafford, leading to a strong finish to the club season.
Mainoo worked his way back into the international picture, appearing in both March friendlies, before earning a nomination for the Premier League's Young Player of the Year award. Tuchel called upon the gifted midfielder in every pre-World Cup warm-up fixture in June, raising expectations that he would contribute this summer. He would not.
Why Kobbie Mainoo Was Snubbed by Thomas Tuchel During 2026 World Cup
Tuchel's lack of confidence in Mainoo can be traced to a single training session following England's World Cup opener, the Daily Mail has reported.
Following a turbulent 4–2 win over Croatia, in which Declan Rice had to be withdrawn in the 72nd minute, England's coaching staff considered resting the heavily utilized Arsenal midfielder for the match against Ghana. Rice openly spoke about a persistent neural pain in his hamstring after the game, calling the substitution "smart."
In the week building up to the second group fixture, Tuchel is believed to have tested Mainoo in the central midfield position previously held by Rice alongside Elliot Anderson. According to the report, "Tuchel had not liked what he saw."
Mainoo and Rice are vastly different players. The Arsenal star's strengths are rooted in his physicality — that relentless capacity to cover enormous amounts of ground both on and off the ball, earning him the nickname "The Horse" among teammates. Mainoo's qualities are more technical than physical.
Ruben Amorim wants more from Kobbie Mainoo. pic.twitter.com/0ghCIt8XnY
Concerns about the youngster's ability to cover ground were first raised by Amorim. "Kobbie is really good at controlling the game, but if he plays as an eight, he has to reach the box and return," the Portuguese manager noted. Mainoo's quality in possession has rarely been questioned, but that evidently wasn't sufficient to win over Tuchel.
Such was his lack of trust, Tuchel started an underfit Rice against Ghana and in every knockout round. When the Premier League champion was afforded some welcome rest in the final group game against Panama, England set up with two attacking midfielders — Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers — ahead of Anderson.
The most glaring snub came during the frantic quarterfinal against Norway. Rice's muscular problems had been worsened by illness in the lead-up to the match and he managed only the opening 45 minutes. At the break, Tuchel turned to Arsenal's Eberechi Eze. That substitution severely weakened England's midfield, and in a bid to fix the imbalance, the manager sought greater central solidity. Once again Mainoo watched from the sidelines as Tuchel deployed Reece James — a natural right back — in midfield.
Even when Ezri Konsa was forced off and James dropped back into defense, Tuchel brought on Rogers, trusting him with an unfamiliar disciplined role alongside Anderson to push Bellingham further forward. If Mainoo hadn't grasped the situation already, the end of that match made it abundantly clear.
Why Take Mainoo at All?
Tuchel would have been well aware of Mainoo's strengths and limitations before selecting him this summer, having worked together in March. The compact passer was not going to dramatically improve his athleticism in just a few months.
One theory put forward by a source cited by The Athletic is that Tuchel believed Mainoo "would be happy to simply be part of a World Cup squad."
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In some respects, it's an understandable assumption. Only three players younger than Mainoo have started a match for one of the World Cup semifinalists this summer: Spain's exceptional teenagers Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, along with two-time Champions League winner Désiré Doué. Yet Mainoo has already experienced these kinds of stages before.
At Euro 2024, Mainoo also began the tournament on the bench, failing to start any of England's group stage matches. Nevertheless, Gareth Southgate grew increasingly impressed by his composure in possession and ultimately handed Mainoo a starting berth in the final. There would be no such rise this time around.