Mainoo Should Start For England Vs Slovakia – Rooney

England legend, Wayne Rooney has come out to say that Gareth Southgate killed Kobbie Mainoo and Anthony Gordon by not starting them in the country’s Euro 2024 group games. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, Mainoo definitely staked a big claim for a starting place with his performance vs Slovenia, and Southgate is to blame for the poor performances during the group stage because he experimented wrongly.

Rooney added that none of what happened in the first 2 games surprised him since playing Trent in midfield was always a recipe for disaster.

His words, “Against Slovenia, Kobbie Mainoo staked a big claim for a starting place, Cole Palmer was very good and Anthony Gordon, though he played only a few minutes, had a couple of excellent touches. At just the right time in the tournament, Gareth may have stumbled upon the right team. I would play at least two of those three youngsters against Slovakia – and, in fact, I said before the tournament that my starting XI for the knockout stage would have Mainoo and Gordon in it.

None of what happened in the group stage surprised me. I would never have played Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield and expected that, when the experiment didn’t work, Gareth would try Conor Gallagher. Gareth killed both a bit by discarding them, but in each case, it was the right call and when Mainoo came in you saw him making forward runs and showing composure on the ball. Palmer is just suited to international football. He can take the ball, he’s calm on it and has the personality you need on that stage. Gordon is more direct than the other two and ensures there is a good blend.”

WOW.