We revisit a line that did very well in the Euro 2024 tournament here, and as long as Lee Carsley deploys Kobbie Mainoo in a similar manner to Gareth Southgate did, there is good value to be had in this line for Mainoo shooting for his country.

Whilst Mainoo did not have a shot in the Euro 2024 final against Spain, a match in which England struggled to maintain control of the ball in the opposition half, it was the first time in his England career that he had started a match and not had at least one shot.

Mainoo’s current average of shots per 90 minutes is 1.15, but those efforts are nicely spread across the rest of Mainoo’s England starts. One in the semi-final against the Netherlands, two in the quarter-final, two in the round of 16, and one in each of his friendly starts against Belgium and Iceland.

It is more likely that England will have a decent measure of the ball against Ireland, much more like the style of all of the games in which Mainoo had a shot. All of those England matches saw the Three Lions have over 50% possession, and in three cases it was over 60% possession. These types of games allow England to push higher up the field, but allow Mainoo to break towards the edge of the area without as much concern about leaving space in behind.

It is from the edge of the area that Mainoo has had most of his shots for England, and this will probably be required against Ireland who are likely to have to defend in a low block for at least some of the time in the match.

Mainoo will try and occupy those spaces and isn’t afraid to let fly from the edge, as well as occasionally sneaking into the box on the opponent’s left side.

The Man Utd midfielder played more and more minutes as the rounds progressed in the Euros, there has obviously been a change in management in the England setup since then, but Mainoo has done nothing to warrant being removed from the team. He should be an integral part of the group building towards the World Cup, and one would expect him to play at least 60 minutes here, which has been enough time for the youngster to have a shot in the past for England.