Wayne Rooney names three reasons why Kobbie Mainoo will score in the Euro 2024 final

Wayne Rooney has named three reasons why Kobbie Mainoo will score in the 2024 European Championship final, with the Manchester United star expected to start for England.

England‘s 2024 European Championship campaign has been a thrilling but, at times, painful experience for fans across the United Kingdom.

Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw, both of whom have played increasingly crucial roles on the road to the final, have well-represented Manchester United in the squad.

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Mainoo, who did not start any of the group stage matches, has become a key player since the quarter-finals, emerging as one of England’s top performers amid their chaotic path to the final. Shaw has been an exceptional substitute in the last two games and is slated to start against Spain on Sunday.

On Wednesday evening, Mainoo delivered another impressive performance. The star is expected to start for England in Berlin, and former United striker and club legend Wayne Rooney believes that Mainoo will score for England in the final.

Rooney, now managing Championship club Plymouth Argyle, has listed three reasons why he feels Mainoo could grab a goal in the final – his bravery, his out-of-possession movement, and that Spain will leave space for him to arrive late in the box.

“Mainoo has made a big difference,” Rooney wrote in this Times Sport column. “He takes the ball, and he is able to keep it in tight spaces in the opposition half. He’s brave. He gets forward at the right times, but even more importantly, as he demonstrated in the semi-final against the Netherlands, he has the ability to do important work out of possession.

“Against the Dutch, he stopped four or five counterattacks, and when they played cut-backs, he was in the right position to clear the ball as well.

He really understands the game. He’s always in the right position, and he doesn’t just stay in the middle of the pitch. In possession, he goes forward or wide and creates overloads. His relationship with Phil Foden has been important.

“They play off each other and have the same bravery to take the ball. They understand each other’s movements — when Phil drops in, Kobbie will run off him and go forward.

“I just have a feeling about Mainoo and the final: He is going to score and prove decisive. If you think of him in the tournament, he has got into good positions going forward, and I think Spain will do their homework and close off space for Harry Kane, Foden, Bukayo Saka, and Jude Bellingham.

“But that will leave space for a midfielder arriving late, and that Mainoo will get one from a cut-back.”

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