Kobbie Mainoo says Michael Carrick’s faith in him helped push him into England’s 2026 World Cup squad, crediting the former Manchester United coach for putting him on the pitch when his club future looked uncertain. The 21-year-old midfielder said he was grateful to Carrick because without that backing, he would not have been there.
The timing matters because Mainoo’s England selection is now being read alongside the revival that followed Carrick’s arrival in January, after the dismissal of Ruben Amorim. Mainoo was picked by Thomas Tuchel for the March international break and later for the World Cup, and his rise has quickly become one of the clearest signs that his season has turned.
Mainoo said on talkSPORT that Carrick’s decision to trust him made the difference. “Definitely, and I told him that I was very grateful. Because if he hadn’t put me on the pitch, then I wouldn’t have been here so, I’m always grateful to him for that,” he said. Under Carrick, Mainoo started 16 of 17 possible games for Manchester United, with the lone miss coming through injury.
That run stands in sharp contrast to the period before Carrick took charge, when Mainoo had been drifting in the wilderness and seeing little pitch time under Amorim. The change in minutes brought the midfielder back into view, and his return to form helped Manchester United finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League in the 2025-26 season.
Mainoo’s selection also carried a larger echo. England had already moved on from him after his role in the team’s runners-up finish at Euro 2024, making his return for the March break and then the World Cup feel like a proper restoration rather than a routine call-up. Carrick, meanwhile, has been handed a two-year contract that runs until summer 2028, which leaves one obvious question unresolved: how he intends to use Mainoo next at Manchester United, now that the midfielder has his place back.
