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Gareth Southgate has branded Kobbie Mainoo’s senior England debut as a “brilliant moment” for the Manchester United midfielder and his loved ones.

Mainoo came on with around 15 minutes of normal time left on the clock during England’s friendly against Brazil at Wembley on Saturday night.

The Carrington academy graduate was initially expected to link up with the U21s but after an excellent display for United against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final, Southgate seemingly changed his mind and made the player an extremely late addition to his senior set-up.

Despite England suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil, Mainoo caught the eye once more despite being on the pitch for a limited period.

The United man registered 21 touches of the ball and successfully delivered all 20 passes that he attempted to find his teammates with.

He embarked on one dribble, which he completed.

(Stats obtained from Sofascore)

Mainoo produced a special moment just four minutes into his senior England debut when he received the ball under pressure from Joao Gomes before proceeding to chop onto his left foot and spinning the Brazil international.

After the final whistle, Southgate reacted to the 18-year-old’s debut and said, “Kobbie was a chance to dip his toes.”

” We needed to refresh some of the team because we’ve got to manage their minutes a little bit, so that’s a strange situation when it’s a game of that size but that’s where we are.”

“To get Kobbie on the pitch was a brilliant moment for him & his family.”

“You saw a couple of turns & a couple of really composed moments that is a bit of an indication of what he might become.”

Southgate on debutant Mainoo: “To get Kobbie on the pitch was a brilliant moment for him & his family. You saw a couple of turns & a couple of really composed moments that is a bit of an indication of what he might become”

— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) March 23, 2024

Mainoo will get another chance to impress when England return to action on Tuesday vs. Belgium.