Gareth Southgate was brought to his senses after yet another stale first-half display from England, opting to bring Kobbie Mainoo into the fold after the interval.
Having started right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield for the opening two Euros matches, the Three Lions boss brought Conor Gallagher into the 11 this evening for their final group-stage fixture against Slovenia.
England had already booked their spot in the knockouts prior to kick-off thanks to Monday’s results swaying in their favour, so you’d have perhaps expected a slightly rotated line-up from the manager to liven things up before finding out their fate for the next stage.
Nevertheless, that’s rarely the case for Southgate, and it wasn’t tonight either. But Manchester United fans were granted a look at their starlet in action with an off-the-bench cameo in place of Gallagher.
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Mainoo proceeded to complete more passes (20/20) in his first 20 minutes on the pitch than the Chelsea midfielder recorded in the entirety of the first half, as confirmed by Statman Dave.
You’d hope it’d give Southgate some food for thought and make him come to his senses, but we’re not so optimistic….
