Mainoo Credits Carrick for England’s 26-Player World Cup Call-Up
Kobbie Mainoo said mainoo would not be in Thomas Tuchel’s 26-player World Cup squad without Michael Carrick putting him on the pitch at Manchester United. The 21-year-old midfielder said he was very grateful for Carrick’s belief after a spell in which he was hardly playing under Ruben Amorim.
Mainoo and Carrick
“Definitely, and I told him that I was very grateful. Because if he hadn’t put me on the pitch, then I wouldn’t have been here so, I’m always grateful to him for that,” Mainoo said when asked if he had Carrick to thank for his place in Tuchel’s 26-player squad. The comment ties his England selection directly to his return to regular football at Old Trafford.
Mainoo’s route changed after Carrick took over Manchester United in January, following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal. Before that switch, England had already moved on from him, and his minutes had dried up during Amorim’s reign.
Old Trafford Minutes
Once Carrick arrived, the midfield balance shifted fast. Mainoo started 16 of 17 possible games under the new manager and missed the other one because of injury. That run put him back in front of England’s staff in the March international break, when Tuchel brought him back into the picture.
The selection also carried him into Tuchel’s 2026 World Cup plans. That is the clearest sign that his club form under Carrick turned a January appointment into more than a reset for United.
Tuchel’s March Decision
The England call-up sits alongside Mainoo’s role in the 2026 World Cup squad, a sharp reversal from the period when he was barely featuring at United. He had already been part of England’s runners-up finish at Euro 2024, so the route back was never about unknown potential. It was about getting back on the field and staying there.
Carrick’s own position has also settled. He earned a two-year contract through summer 2028 after United finished third in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League. For Mainoo, the lesson is plain: the minutes Carrick gave him turned a stalled club spell into a place in Tuchel’s plans.
