Thomas Tuchel Belum Mainkan Kobbie Mainoo di Piala Dunia 2026

Gelandang muda Manchester United, Kobbie Mainoo, belum mendapat kesempatan bermain satu menit pun bersama tim nasional Inggris selama gelaran Piala Dunia 2026 di bawah asuhan pelatih Thomas Tuchel.

Hingga menjelang laga semifinal melawan Argentina pada Rabu (15/7/2026), Mainoo menjadi salah satu dari tiga pemain outfield Inggris yang belum pernah diturunkan, bersama Trevoh Chalobah dan Ivan Toney.

Thomas Tuchel lebih memilih opsi lain di lini tengah, termasuk memasukkan bek kanan Reece James sebagai gelandang bertahan dan memainkan Jordan Henderson yang berusia 36 tahun dari bangku cadangan.

Mantan striker Inggris, Michael Owen, menyayangkan situasi ini namun menilai Mainoo masih berpotensi menjadi pahlawan yang tidak terduga bagi skuad Tiga Singa seperti legenda Geoff Hurst pada Piala Dunia 1966.

"I do a little bit, because I think he's definitely got the ability to play a role in the World Cup. And who knows? Things change, you get unlikely heroes." ujar Michael Owen, Duta UK untuk Casino.org kepada GOAL.

Owen menambahkan bahwa momen terbaik Inggris saat menjuarai Piala Dunia di masa lalu juga diwarnai kejutan ketika Geoff Hurst bermain menggantikan Jimmy Greaves yang sangat diandalkan saat itu.

"Our greatest moment ever in this country, winning the World Cup, who would have thought Geoff Hurst would have been playing? Jimmy Greaves was the best thing since sliced bread. My dad just raves about Jimmy Greaves.

When anyone's talking about the best England XI and things like that, my dad's like, ‘Jimmy Greaves’ straight away. He was insanely good. Now, things happen, and all of a sudden, Geoff Hurst plays, and look what happens." kata Owen.

Mantan penyerang Liverpool itu mengingatkan bahwa laga melawan Argentina akan menjadi ujian sesungguhnya bagi Inggris setelah melewati adangan tim-tim seperti Norwegia dan Meksiko.

"There will be, or there could be, a surprise. And it could be Mainoo, you can't switch off. Really, what we've done so far, if we had been knocked out, there would have been a huge inquest. I mean, nobody should be really in our league." tambah Owen.

Ia menegaskan bahwa tim sekelas Inggris seharusnya memang bisa mengatasi lawan-lawan sebelumnya sebelum menghadapi Argentina di babak empat besar.

"We've built it up as if Mexico was the hardest game of all time, but come on. Norway, if we played Norway at a neutral ground, let's say we play Norway in Spain tomorrow, people would expect us to beat them two or 3-0. So when you look back, we should be beating every single team." lanjut Owen.

Menurutnya, pertandingan semifinal ini akan menyajikan banyak kejutan dan melahirkan pahlawan-pahlawan baru yang tidak terduga bagi timnas Inggris.

"This [Argentina] is now the first game, this is a proper game, this is one that is a toss of a coin, this is one that's going to challenge us. But everything so far has been what you would expect from England, surely." tutur Owen.

Owen pun menutup pernyataannya dengan harapan bahwa Mainoo masih memiliki kesempatan untuk bersinar di sisa turnamen.

"We will see, but if we're going to win it, there are going to be so many twists and turns and so many heroes that we won't even be thinking at the moment. And Mainoo could be one of them." ucap Owen.

Di sisi lain, mantan gelandang Manchester United, Paul Scholes, justru berharap Mainoo tidak diturunkan dalam laga krusial semifinal demi kebaikan sang pemain sendiri yang sudah terlalu lama absen bertanding.

"It seems like it’s anybody but Kobbie Mainoo for Thomas Tuchel." kata Paul Scholes dalam podcast The Good, The Bad & The Football.

Scholes merasa heran dengan keputusan Tuchel yang terus mengabaikan Mainoo meskipun sang gelandang tidak memiliki masalah perilaku di dalam tim.

"Only Tuchel will know why. I can’t imagine Kobbie being a problem in the camp. Every manager has their favourites." jelas Scholes.

Legenda Setan Merah itu menilai mental dan kondisi bertanding Mainoo bisa terganggu jika dipaksakan tampil di fase yang sangat menentukan tanpa pemanasan di laga-laga sebelumnya.

"I actually hope Kobbie Mainoo doesn’t come on now because he’s probably so down, he’s not played and he’s not kicked a football in a real game. He’s been training, obviously, but if he goes in now the only thing he can do is bad." pungkas Scholes.

Pandangan serupa juga diutarakan oleh legenda Manchester United lainnya, Nicky Butt, yang mengkhawatirkan kesiapan fisik dan mental Mainoo di semifinal.

"It seems like it’s anybody but Kobbie Mainoo for Thomas Tuchel at the minute." cetus Nicky Butt pada podcast yang sama.

Butt menyoroti keputusan Tuchel yang lebih memilih memasukkan Reece James yang baru pulih dari cedera hamstring dibanding menurunkan Mainoo.

"He’s bringing Reece James on who hasn’t played for three weeks because of a hamstring injury. Only Tuchel will know why, I can’t imagine Kobbie being a problem in the camp." tutur Butt.

Ia juga menambahkan bahwa preferensi pelatih terhadap pemain tertentu merupakan hal yang biasa dalam sepak bola.

"But every manager has their favourites, of course they do." sambung Butt.

Butt menegaskan harapannya agar gelandang berusia 21 tahun itu tetap berada di bangku cadangan agar terhindar dari performa buruk akibat kurangnya menit bermain kompetitif.

"Do you know something? I actually hope Kobbie Mainoo doesn’t come on now." kata Butt.

Menurutnya, atmosfer pertandingan semifinal Piala Dunia terlalu berisiko bagi pemain yang sama sekali belum merasakan atmosfer laga sejak fase grup.

"Because he’s probably so down, he’s not played and he’s not kicked a football in a real game. He’s been training, obviously, but if he goes in now, the only thing he can do is bad." jelas Butt.

Butt menilai Mainoo akan kesulitan mengimbangi intensitas permainan di level tertinggi semifinal turnamen akbar tersebut.

"He’s not going to be at the level to go and play at that level in a semi-final. I hope he doesn’t come on." tambah Butt.

Ia pun menutup dengan menyebut bahwa Mainoo bukanlah pemain pertama yang harus menerima nasib tanpa menit bermain di Piala Dunia.

"It’s anybody but Kobbie for Tuchel. He won’t be the first one to go to a World Cup and not play a minute, there’s a few players who have done that." ujar Butt.

Sementara itu, mantan bek Inggris, Stephen Warnock, justru memiliki pandangan berbeda dan ingin melihat Mainoo diturunkan sejak menit pertama menggantikan Declan Rice yang sempat mengalami masalah kebugaran.

"In midfield against Argentina, it will be Elliot Anderson and Jude Bellingham, then I think Thomas Tuchel will go with Declan Rice." kata Stephen Warnock kepada betTOM.

Warnock menilai gaya permainan Rice kurang progresif dalam mengalirkan bola ke lini depan selama turnamen berlangsung.

"However, just given the way Rice has played so far – and I’ll get a lot of criticism for this – I think he’s got to be a lot more progressive with his passing through the lines." ungkap Warnock.

Ia percaya kemampuan olah bola Mainoo bisa memberikan dimensi baru bagi permainan lini tengah Inggris saat menghadapi Argentina.

"I would personally prefer to see Kobbie Mainoo in there. He’s a different type of player, who can also play on the edge in a big game. I’d like to see him start, but I think Tuchel will stick with Rice." terang Warnock.

Thomas Tuchel sendiri sempat memberikan penjelasan mengenai keputusannya memasukkan Reece James sebagai gelandang saat Inggris mengalahkan Norwegia di perempat final.

"Very good [on the subs], Reece James was excellent, Morgan Rogers was fantastic today, Ebs [Eze] grew into the game, Djed grew into the game." kata Thomas Tuchel dilansir dari Express.

Meskipun menang dan lolos ke semifinal, pelatih asal Jerman itu mengakui timnya masih membutuhkan banyak perbaikan performa.

"Full credit to them. But overall yeah, we got lucky today. It's about quality.

We need to play better. We will get better." ujar Tuchel.

Ia juga menambahkan bahwa eksperimen menempatkan James di lini tengah bertujuan untuk memberikan keleluasaan bagi pemain kreatif lainnya seperti Elliot Anderson dan Jude Bellingham.

"We put in [Reece] James as a six, which freed up Elliot Anderson at the eight, and Jude back on the 10," jelas Tuchel mengenai taktiknya dilansir dari Manchester Evening News.

Sebelum turnamen dimulai di Amerika Serikat dan Meksiko, Mainoo sempat mengungkapkan masa-masa sulitnya di level klub sebelum akhirnya bangkit di bawah arahan Michael Carrick di Manchester United.

“I mean, obviously there were difficult times. But I tried to keep my focus on what was in front of me, take things day by day and just keep working my craft, keep working hard for the team, and I hoped the rest would come. Thankfully it has.” kenang Kobbie Mainoo saat diwawancarai media Inggris di AS.

Pemain lulusan akademi Old Trafford itu juga menyampaikan rasa terima kasihnya yang mendalam kepada Carrick yang telah memberikan kesempatan bermain hingga dirinya dipanggil ke skuad Piala Dunia.

"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." tutur Mainoo.