Kobbie Mainoo: England's Unexpected Hero?
Sixty years on from England’s greatest day, the story still starts the same way: with someone else’s name on the teamsheet.
Back in 1966, Geoff Hurst was not meant to be the man. Jimmy Greaves was. Greaves, the natural finisher, the darling of English football, the striker Owen’s father still “raves about” whenever the talk turns to the best England XI. Greaves was the headline act. Hurst was the understudy.
Then came the twist. Injury cut Greaves down. Hurst stepped in. And at Wembley, against West Germany, he walked into immortality with a World Cup final hat-trick that rewrote English football history and has never been matched by an England side since.
From back-up to World Cup legend in a single tournament. That is the template Owen sees when he looks at Kobbie Mainoo.
From Hurst’s Moment to Mainoo’s Chance
Owen, speaking to GOAL in his role as UK ambassador for Casino.org, was asked whether he feels for Mainoo as England search for control in midfield. His answer cut straight to the point.
“I do a little bit,” he said, “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.”
The comparison is not about position. It is about timing, opportunity, and the ruthless way tournaments move. Hurst only played because fate intervened. Once the door opened, he kicked it off its hinges.
“Our greatest moment ever in this country, winning the World Cup, who would have thought Geoff Hurst would have been playing?” Owen said. “Jimmy Greaves was the best thing since sliced bread… He was insanely good. Now, things happen, and all of a sudden, Geoff Hurst plays, and look what happens.”
That is the space Mainoo occupies now. Not the guaranteed starter. Not the established name. But close enough to matter if the manager turns his way and the moment breaks right.
“There will be, or there could be, a surprise,” Owen added. “And it could be Mainoo, you can't switch off.”
Expectations, Not Excuses
Owen’s view of England’s campaign so far is blunt. He believes the bar should be higher, the tone less self-congratulatory.
“Really, what we've done so far, if we had been knocked out, there would have been a huge inquest,” he said. “I mean, nobody should be really in our league.”
He bristled at the way some have framed the challenges England have faced.
“We've built it up as if Mexico was the hardest game of all time, but come on,” Owen insisted. Then came the comparison that stripped away any sense of awe. “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.”
For Owen, that is the context. These are fixtures England should handle. Professional, controlled, expected wins. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now the Real Test
All of which is why Argentina, in Owen’s eyes, changes everything.
“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,” he said. “But everything so far has been what you would expect from England, surely.”
This is the point where reputations harden or crack. The stage where a squad stops being talked about in terms of potential and starts being judged on delivery. Tight margins. One mistake, one moment of brilliance, one decision from the bench.
This is also the kind of match where a player like Mainoo can suddenly matter more than anyone imagined a month ago.
“We will see,” Owen said, looking ahead. “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.”
Sixty years ago, England’s greatest twist ended with Hurst walking off the Wembley pitch with the match ball and a legend’s status. If this generation is to write anything close to that kind of story, someone unexpected will have to seize their chance in the same ruthless way.
The question now is simple: when the chaos of knockout football hits, is Mainoo the one who steps through the door?
