Kobbie Mainoo was granted his lengthiest appearance of the Euros thus far after being brought off the bench in place of Conor Gallagher at half-time against Slovenia.
It really isn’t a major international tournament until the headlines and social media are filled with pundits and fans’ dismay towards Gareth Southgate.
This time around, it’s the monotonous, drab football he has such a world-class crop of players ordered to operate, as well as his questionable line-up choices and in-game decisions.
In particular, the lack of minutes for Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton and Anthony Gordon have England supporters in despair over the team’s stale performances across each 90-minute clash.
After Mainoo entered the fold tonight, he proceeded to complete more passes (20/20) in 20 minutes than Gallagher recorded in the entirety of the first half. As well as that, in the dying embers of the stalemate, he executed an easy-on-the-eye backheel pass to Harry Kane, which undoubtedly should’ve been returned by the Three Lions skipper.
Instead, Kane played in Palmer on the right flank, who struck his shot into the gloves of Jan Oblak before the spoils were ultimately shared in Cologne.
Watch the chance below (3:27):
Footage courtesy of England.
