Gareth Southgate praised England and Manchester United prospect Kobbie Mainoo following his complete Three Lions debut.

The 18-year-old was given the opportunity to impress right away, and he delivered, displaying the kind of composure and technical talent that has propelled him to Old Trafford so quickly after breaking onto the scene. A late Jude Bellingham goal saved England from two friendly defeats against Brazil and Belgium.

Youri Tielemans scored twice for the Red Devils following Ivan Toney’s penalty, but Bellingham scored one of the game’s final kicks to tie the score. Mainoo performed admirably in midfield alongside Bellingham and Arsenal’s Declan Rice.

Following the game, Southgate was asked what he told Mainoo as he exited the pitch late in the second half. The England manager told beIN Sport: “Just that he has had a fantastic week with us.”

“Everything we’ve seen with his club, he replicated in an England jersey, which isn’t always the case. Very calm, receives the ball so well under pressure, and is strong, so we are playing a little more openly that way, but the rewards with the ball were obvious.”

Southgate clearly admires Mainoo, showering praise on the teenager both before and after the game. He explained before of kickoff: “He appears to be very calm.” You can see that he is taking everything in.

“Talking to him tactically, he appears to be able to grasp all of those notions. Many young athletes can now achieve this thanks to their academy education. You can see his familiarity handling the ball and receiving in tight spaces.

“A lot of progress is being made in a short period of time, but you saw some of his qualities in a quick cameo the other day. Sometimes the really young ones don’t even think about it.

“It’s all flowing, and maybe as you get older, you’ll think about it more. It is a beautiful, innocent time when he is simply going with the flow and seizing chances as they arise.”

Mainoo made his entire Premier League debut for United less than 125 days ago, yet he is already expected to travel to Germany for Euro 2024 this summer.