Graeme Souness, the former Scottish footballer, has criticised Kobbie Mainoo for not understanding his position fully during England’s 2-1 defeat in the final of the UEFA Euro 2024 against Spain. The 71-year-old remarked that the Manchester United teenager was “naive” to get dragged out of the game far too often, but at the same time, he called him a very talented footballer.
Notably, in the 2023-24 club football season, Kobbie Mainoo was established as a household name with consistent performances in his first year with Manchester United. After playing regularly in Erik ten Hag’s side in his first top-flight season, he was selected for the England football team coached by Gareth Southgate at the UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany.
Graeme Souness blasts Kobbie Mainoo as “naive” for his performance in Euro ’24
Following his impressive showing as a substitute in the group stages of the Euros, Kobbie Mainoo started all four knockout matches for England. In the tournament final, he was substituted off in the second half after his struggles on the field, replaced by Cole Palmer, who scored the equaliser for the team, but it wasn’t enough as Mikel Oyarzabal got the winner for Spain late on.
During the Up Front podcast episode, Graeme Souness shared his thoughts about Kobbie Mainoo’s performances in the UEFA Euro 2024. The Scottish football legend remarked, as per Daily Mail, “I think he’s (Kobbie Mainoo) really good on the ball, he’s very talented on the ball. But he doesn’t fully understand the position. He wanders, he empties the middle of the field too readily.”
“I watched him against Iceland (during England’s last Euro 2024 warm-up game) and he was getting thrown to the left and thrown to the right. He came on as a substitute when holding onto a 1-0 lead (during England’s first Euro 2024 game against Serbia) and the first thing he did was chase down the goalkeeper and try to put him under pressure. It’s naivety, he’s still learning the game,” Graeme Souness added.