Thomas Tuchel delivers Kobbie Mainoo injury update as England issue statement

Kobbie Mainoo missed England’s thrilling World Cup third place play-off win over France with a back injury, Thomas Tuchel confirmed.

England secured their best World Cup finish since 1966 by winning an incredible contest 6-4 in Miami on Saturday night.

Getty

Getty

Tuchel heavily rotated his team to allow players who had played little part in the tournament to feature.

But Mainoo was not afforded that opportunity due to injury, meaning he went through the whole tournament without playing a single minute.

Mainoo misses out

Ahead of the game against France, the Three Lions released a brief statement confirming the Manchester United midfielder’s absence.

It simply read: “Kobbie Mainoo is ruled out of today’s matchday squad to face France due to injury.”

But Tuchel later provided more insight into why the 21-year-old missed out.

“Kobbie was injured in the last training session yesterday morning,” said the England boss.

“He had a sharp pain in the back within the training and he was not ready to play.”

Having played a starring role in England’s run to the Euro 2024, Mainoo must wait until at least 2030 to make his World Cup debut.

An unused substitute throughout this summer’s finals, Mainoo’s lack of playing time has been widely criticised – especially in the wake of the Three Lions’ frustrating semi-final collapse to Argentina.

Among those criticising Tuchel for not turning to Mainoo was Neil Warnock.

The veteran former Sheffield United and Crystal Palace manager told talkSPORT ahead of the third place play-off: “It will be interesting to see if he picks Mainoo.

“He was the type of lad that you needed in that last 25 minutes [when England surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to Argentina] because he’s got the legs; he can hold it up; he can run with the ball.”

Tuchel was reportedly unhappy with what he’d seen from Mainoo in training ahead of England’s second group game of the World Cup, the forgettable 0-0 draw with Ghana.

But it seems likely he would have played against France had he been fit, given how Tuchel rung the changes.

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Three Lions head home as best England side since ’66

Dean Henderson made his major tournament debut in that game, with Eberechi Eze and Ivan Toney handed their first starts of this World Cup.

Bukayo Saka hit England’s first World Cup knockout hat-trick since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to ensure victory.

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe bagged a brace to go one clear of Lionel Messi as the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer.

Messi could wrestle that record straight back on Sunday, though, with holders Argentina facing Spain in the final.