Manchester United fans believe it is written in the stars for England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo to cause “nightmares” for a Spain player and end his unbeaten run.
Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw are the two Manchester United players who have been part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024 this summer.
Luke Shaw missed the early stages of the tournament for England due to injury and recently returned to action for the wins over Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Mainoo, on the other hand, has emerged as a pivotal midfield figure for England at the tournament after initially being overlooked by manager Gareth Southgate.
The 19-year-old United midfielder made a brief cameo in the 1-0 Group C opener against Serbia before he was left on the bench for the 1-1 draw against Denmark.
However, Mainoo came off the bench in the 0-0 draw against Slovenia and the United star impressed with his superb showing in the final Group C match.
Southgate had initially snubbed Mainoo for a starting role for England after experimenting with Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield.
Mainoo meets Spain star again for Euro 2024 final
Gareth Southgate dropped his experiment with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the knockout rounds and opted for Kobbie Mainoo to start alongside Declan Rice.
Mainoo impressed with his performance in the 2-1 comeback win against Slovakia before producing another solid display in the victory over Switzerland.
The England international earned rave reviews once again with his commanding midfield performance in the 2-1 comeback win against the Netherlands.
Southgate’s men punched their ticket to the Euro 2024 final in Germany after Ollie Watkins’ dramatic 90th-minute winner at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.
England will now meet Spain, who defeated France 2-1 in a comeback win, in the final of this summer’s Euros at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday.
The Three Lions were one of the tournament favourites coming into the competition, but England have struggled with consistency and form in their Euro 2024 campaign.
Spain, on the other hand, have widely impressed over the course of the Euros and remain undefeated en route to the final against England.
Mainoo is widely tipped to start the final for England and will cross paths again with linchpin Spain midfielder Rodri.
The Stockport-born player was responsible for ending Rodri’s unbeaten run with Manchester City after scoring the winner in United’s FA Cup final triumph in May.
Rodri has been a deeply influential player at Euro 2024 for Spain and the Manchester City star is currently unbeaten in 470 days with his national team.
Man Utd fans react to Mainoo vs Rodri showdown
United fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, are licking their lips at the prospect of Mainoo ending Rodri’s unbeaten run with Spain.
One Red Devils supporter claimed that Mainoo had “bullied” Rodri before and the England midfielder will “conquer” the Spain star again in the Euro 2024 final.
“Rodri’s kryptonite is Kobbie Mainoo,” one fan said.
Another added: “So, Kobbie Mainoo is about to break another Rodri unbeaten run?”
“Rodri waking up in cold sweats having nightmares about Kobbie,” someone else commented.
While a fourth added: “Who remembers what happened last time Kobbie Mainoo’s team played against Rodri’s?”
A fifth X user tweeted: “Kobbie Mainoo has bullied Rodri already. Let him do it again.”
“Kobbie to conquer Rodri. Another Manchester derby,” a sixth wrote.
Somebody else posted: “Rodri [is going to] have sleepless nights thinking about playing against Kobbie again.”
And an eighth simply added: “The last time Kobbie vs Rodri [were] in a final we all know what happened.”