Man Utd star Kobbie Mainoo handed huge vote of confidence ahead of Euro 2024

Alan Shearer has hailed Kobbie Mainoo's standout performance in the FA Cup final, suggesting it could secure him a place in England's starting line-up for Euro 2024.

Mainoo's meteoric rise this season has been a silver lining for Manchester United, with his consistent performances under Erik ten Hag culminating in a stunning goal that clinched FA Cup glory for the Reds. The 19-year-old was delighted to help United lift the historic trophy and will hope to add another major honour with England this summer.

Having been included in the preliminary 33-man squad for Euro 2024 last week, Mainoo's prowess has not gone unnoticed. With England's midfield still up for debate, Newcastle United icon Shearer is convinced that Mainoo's Wembley heroics have made a compelling case for Gareth Southgate to hand him a starting berth, despite the teenager's relative inexperience at senior international level.

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"Not only has he played his way into the squad, he may have just played himself into the XI," Shearer stated on The Rest is Football podcast. "In front of Gareth at Wembley, against that top-quality Man City midfield, he was the outstanding player. He may have just played himself into the XI."

With the Euros on the horizon, Southgate faces a tactical conundrum: whether to position Phil Foden in a more advanced midfield role or to partner Mainoo with Declan Rice in a double pivot, pushing Jude Bellingham further forward.

Mainoo made his England debut in March and the United midfielder quickly demonstrated his potential to enhance the Three Lions