Thomas Tuchel has explained that “sharp” back pain forced Kobbie Mainoo to miss England’s bronze medal match against France at the World Cup, after the young midfielder was unexpectedly absent from the squad.
England head coach Tuchel made seven changes to his starting line-up as the Three Lions secured a thrilling 6-4 victory over France, just three days after suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals.
In the clash with France, Tuchel was anticipated to give opportunities to players who had seen limited or no action during the tournament. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson and striker Ivan Toney were the most notable beneficiaries of this approach. However, Mainoo appeared to be another logical candidate for inclusion in midfield.
Despite that, it was confirmed prior to kick-off in Miami, Florida, that the Manchester United midfielder would miss out through injury, even though he had not featured for a single minute during the World Cup campaign.
“Kobbie got injured in the final training session yesterday morning,” Tuchel explained about the 21-year-old on Saturday. “He felt a sharp pain in his back during training, and he wasn’t fit enough to take part in the match.”
Mainoo’s absence throughout England’s World Cup journey disappointed many supporters, particularly in light of the nature of the semi-final defeat to Argentina.
England had taken a second-half lead through Anthony Gordon, but later dropped deep and defended under pressure, with Tuchel’s substitutions seemingly compounding the issue. Enzo Fernandez equalised with a strike from the edge of the box, before Lautaro Martinez’s late header sealed Argentina’s place in Sunday’s final against Spain.
Numerous England fans felt the team lacked a midfielder capable of maintaining possession, arguing that Mainoo could have provided that stability.
Nevertheless, including him in such a high-pressure match would have meant throwing him into action without any prior minutes, given that Tuchel had not used him at all during the tournament.
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