England are into their second-consecutive European Championship finals after beating the Netherlands 2-1 in a tense semi-final affair.
Just like the 2020 edition (held in 2021), a couple of Manchester United players have been involved, with Kobbie Mainoo emerging as the star of the show, in particular.
He has been accompanied by Luke Shaw, who has shrugged off injury issues to start playing a part in the campaign at the perfect time.
Shaw’s status for the finals remains undecided as yet, even though some would claim putting him up against Lamine Yamal is not wise.
In the meantime, the mood in the camp is at an all-time high and that can be seen with a recent interaction between Shaw and Mainoo after the win.
Luke Shaw’s message after the win, Mainoo reacts
Shaw, who came off the bench for the second half to see England through to the finals, sent a stirring message to his team and the fans.
He posted a picture of him with his United teammate, Mainoo, and aptly captioned the image, “One more push”. Pictures with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were also included as his teammates reacted to it.
Mainoo’s succinct and to-the-point two-word response summed him up as a player. The prodigious midfielder simply reacted by saying, “Let’s goo”, with no emojis or fancy stuff.
The calm, no-nonsense, and unassuming style of play where Mainoo makes the remarkable look routine is why he has become the heartbeat of the club and national side.
Saka and Rice also reacted to the post, with the former putting up two emojis and the latter calling Shaw and the team his “family”.
It is a far cry from the past England teams where veterans have accepted their club rivalries came in the way of playing together for the nation. Regardless of his style of play or tactical acumen, fostering camaraderie in the group is the biggest “tick” when assessing Gareth Southgate’s England tenure.
A chance at redemption
While Mainoo has reached the Euros final on his first attempt, Luke Shaw will be extra motivated to win this one.
That is because he was a part of the side that faltered at the final hurdle when they lost to Italy in the finals of the previous European Championship.
Furthermore, it was Shaw’s early goal in the second minute of that fixture which had the team and the nation believing that their time had finally come.
It wasn’t to be as Italy equalised in the second half and won in the penalty shootout which is now infamous for some of England’s players being subjected to racist abuse for missing their penalties.
Destiny has called for a second time for Shaw and this time, he is accompanied by arguably the world’s best young pure midfielder in Mainoo. The chance for redemption is here and Shaw has aptly mentioned it himself. It’s “one final push”.