Kobbie Mainoo’s meteoric rise from young talent to and England stalwart has been one of the stories of the season, with the teenager having claimed man of the match in the Red Devils’ FA Cup win over and now having become first choice midfield partner for in an England shirt.
Mainoo’s introduction to the side, after failed experiments with and , has seen the Three Lions advance to the last four of EURO 2024.
And his security on the ball has been a key factor in that. As per data site Opta, the midfielder has the best passing accuracy of any midfielder not just at this summer’s tournament, but of any European Championship since 1980, with the Manchester man having completed 96% of his 138 passes in an England shirt this summer.
96% – Kobbie Mainoo has the best pass accuracy of any midfielder at a European Championship that Opta has on record since 1980 (96%, min. 100 passes), misplacing just five of his 138 passes at EURO 2024. Dependable.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
However, there were some that pointed out the safe route that the youngster tends to take with his passes, either by instruction or instinct, which certainly helps bolster his numbers.
There’s talent here and I’m not writing this to slam a young talent. However this stat is very important to contextualise.
Of 132 players to have completed over 100 passes at this year’s Euros, Mainoo ranks 131st for proportion of passes forward. 13%.
— James Benge (@jamesbenge)
Despite this, his newfound importance to Gareth Southgate’s side cannot be disputed, and if England are to reach the final of EURO 2024, he will need to be at his best against Netherlands.