If anybody knows how Kobbie Mainoo feels right now, it is probably Michael Carrick. The Manchester United head coach has been there and got the t-shirt when it comes to going to a World Cup only to then be treated like a spare part.
Carrick's Own World Cup Ordeal
Carrick's moment of ignominy came in 2010, when he made Fabio Capello's 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa. Carrick probably got a sense of where things were going when Capello tried to get Paul Scholes out of retirement and then considered a call-up for Owen Hargreaves, who had played one minute of football in the previous season.
Instead, he turned to Carrick, but England's World Cup campaign was full of misery and for those not even selected, that experience was magnified. They stayed in the middle of nowhere, played awful football and were dumped out in the last-16 by Germany when they were thrashed 4-1.
Eight years later, Carrick reflected on the experience and how badly it had affected him. He didn't play for England for another two years.
"I'd been in the squad a long time and, I'll be honest, I was finding it hard going away with England," Carrick said in 2018. "I didn't mind going away with United pre-season for three weeks or whatever and coming back, but going with England, it was almost depressing in a way."
"It made me really down, so I came to the point after South Africa where I thought, 'I can't do that again'. People would be saying, 'Pull yourself together and be grateful for it', and I understood the position I was in, the privileged position I was in, but I just found it so hard and I couldn't deal with it any more. I was probably on the verge of... yes, I was depressed at times, yes. I told the FA, 'Look, please don't pick me'."
Mainoo's Similar Experience
Mainoo hasn't yet opened up on his experiences in North America but if and when he does so, it will be fascinating to hear what he made of it all. Carrick's 2010 tournament lasted only four games, but Mainoo went eight games without selection, albeit a minor back injury kept him out on Saturday.
England observers noticed a change in Mainoo's mood during the tournament: he left stadiums quickly and often looked forlorn, but that is also partly his personality. He is a quiet, unassuming figure who often keeps to himself. We are guessing at what he made of it all at the moment.
But if anybody knows what he's feeling like, it's Carrick. The 44-year-old's handling of Mainoo was one of the triumphs of his spell in charge in the second half of last season and his understanding of the academy graduate will be vital again now.
Carrick's Impact on Mainoo
Carrick had an immediate impact on Mainoo, who returned to the United team after being ignored by Ruben Amorim, who clearly has something in common with Thomas Tuchel, and it's worth reflecting on what Carrick said about the 21-year-old as far back as January.
"I've really enjoyed working with Kobbie," he said. "I've known him since he was young. I think I started working with him a little bit when he was 13, 14 years old when I was going through my badges myself. He's quite straight-faced and he doesn't give you an awful lot, but you could see the way he played and he expressed himself. He was enjoying himself and to see him like that was great."
Mainoo was straight-faced on England duty, but we should be careful reading too much into that. The challenge now is to get him to enjoy the game again.
He is expected to be back with United when they head to a training camp at Carton House, in County Kildare, after the friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg. Like Carrick, he might find being around his club team a more enjoyable experience than spending six weeks away with your country without getting a kick.
In time, Mainoo might reveal how he felt the summer went and what his experience was like. For now, he at least has the perfect manager to get him back to his best at Old Trafford.
