I know what Kobbie Mainoo is going through, I went to the World Cup and never kicked a ball: exclusive interview with United legend

Despite his sensational form for Manchester United at the end of last season, Kobbie Mainoo has not played a minute of football for England at the World Cup. Manager Thomas Tuchel’s decision is all the more surprising given the underwhelming performances of Elliot Anderson in midfield and Declan Rice’s struggles to overcome a knock. As England prepare to face Norway in the quarter-final on Saturday, in an exclusive interview hosted by BetTOM, we asked legendary United defender Wes Brown his thoughts on the situation. Overlooked and undervalued “It’s disappointing for all us Man United fans that he hasn’t had any minutes whatsoever,” Brown lamented. “It’s not like it’s his first time, he’s had experience in big competitions before. I’m pretty sure he’ll be disappointed as well. We feel like Kobbie can bring something to the table, but it’s not been quite his tournament and the manager stuck to his guns with the two in the middle really.” Especially as Anderson has underperformed? “I like him, to be fair,” the former England man said. “Energetic, he’s done what he’s needed to do, he gets about the pitch. I think that price [paid by Manchester City] is a lot of money for anybody, but at the same time you can’t blame the player, that’s just the way the market is. He’s just got to get on with what he does.” “It was a very intense, whatever it was, 100 minutes [against Mexico], and the boys managed to get through. And all you can hope for now is that they get enough rest, and you never know with that extra time and how tough it was with 10 men, we still might get to see Kobbie at some point.” Life as a World Cup extra We asked Brown, who has been to a World Cup with England as an unused squad member, how it feels to be in that position. “Well, I was rubbish the game before, to be fair,” he joked. “I didn’t expect to play anyway, and at the time I wasn’t even a right-back, I was a centre-back. It’s a great experience. You obviously want to play, but at the same time you’re happy that you go and you’ve been involved.” “How does it affect your preparation for the following season when you go to a World Cup but you don’t actually kick a ball?,” we asked. “Is he going to be tired or is he going to be rusty?” “Well, I think training will still be hard at the beginning,” he answered. “I think once the tournament starts, you don’t actually do much. You do maybe some short sessions that are hard, but not the long sessions like you have in a full season at your club.” “I think he’ll get 3 to 4 weeks off. And it’s something that he would have done before with that time, and you just have to really relax and take a cool down and be ready to come back.” “But it is a little bit different. You don’t join up at the same time with the boys, and when you do get in, you’re just hoping everything goes well because preseason is something that you need to have under your belt to keep you going for this season.” The second part of our exclusive interview with Wes Brown, on United’s plans for JJ Gabriel next season, will be published here tomorrow. Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Red Billy Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and two magazines and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy first saw United live in 1971, watching George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, before becoming a League Match ticket book holder from 1975/76 and a writer since 1995. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.