Tuchel admits it 'hurt him' to leave Mainoo unused throughout England's World Cup

Thomas Tuchel has publicly accepted responsibility for leaving Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo without a single minute of World Cup football this summer, admitting the decision ‘hurt him’ and that the 21-year-old had done nothing to deserve the omission.

Mainoo was part of England’s squad throughout the tournament but was consistently overlooked in midfield, where Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson and even Reece James were preferred. An injury in the build-up to the third-place play-off against France then denied him what would have been his only opportunity to feature.

“He didn’t put a foot wrong during the World Cup. He was class in behaviour on the training pitch,” Tuchel said. “There was big competition; we played Reece in central midfield also. Elliot Anderson is amazing for us, Declan Rice is a very unique player. We trusted them more than we trusted Kobbie. It was difficult for him. It was on me.”

The England head coach was candid about how the France game injury compounded his regret. “He got injured before the France game so we couldn’t even give him minutes there, which hurt me. Maybe he was more hurt than me but it was my responsibility and it’s my responsibility to reward him for that.”

Tuchel’s handling of Mainoo drew criticism during the tournament. Former United midfielder Nicky Butt went as far as advising Mainoo to decline his place in the squad for the France play-off, calling it a “stupid, nonsense game” that offered little reward for a player who had been sidelined all summer.

Mainoo has since returned to club form at United, impressing on his first start of the Premier League season against Ipswich and building what looks like a productive midfield partnership with Youri Tielemans. He is expected to start at Fulham before joining up with the England squad for Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czechia and Croatia.