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Understated Mainoo Vital as England Reach Euro 2024 Final

England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo (R) put in a superb display as his team beat the Netherlands to reach the Euro 2024 final. INA FASSBENDER / AFP
England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo (R) put in a superb display as his team beat the Netherlands to reach the Euro 2024 final. INA FASSBENDER / AFP
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Understated Mainoo Vital as England Reach Euro 2024 Final

England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo (R) put in a superb display as his team beat the Netherlands to reach the Euro 2024 final. INA FASSBENDER / AFP
England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo (R) put in a superb display as his team beat the Netherlands to reach the Euro 2024 final. INA FASSBENDER / AFP

Spain youngster Lamine Yamal showered himself in glory by firing his team into the Euro 2024 final but England had their own, rather more understated, teenager to thank in Kobbie Mainoo for helping secure a berth in the Berlin showpiece on Sunday.
The 19-year-old's sterling performance ensured England reached a second consecutive Euros final with a 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday, AFP said.
Mainoo played a vital role in England's midfield as the Three Lions produced their finest performance in Germany this summer.
Bidding to win their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup, Gareth Southgate's side desperately needed to improve after scraping into the final four.
Finding his footing at the core of the team is Manchester United midfielder Mainoo.
He made his Premier League debut in January 2023 at 17, only breaking through in the 2023-24 season with his club.
Mainoo became the youngest ever England player to play in the semi-finals of a major tournament and showed exactly why Southgate has put his faith in him.
He began the tournament as third choice for the position -- after the coach dropped Trent Alexander-Arnold, he turned to Chelsea's Connor Gallagher against Slovenia in England's third group game.
It was not working at half-time so Southgate turned to Mainoo and hasn't looked back.
The midfielder has become Southgate's solution to a problem position, having previously lamented the lack of a new Kalvin Phillips or Jordan Henderson.
Mainoo put in assured performances against Slovakia and Switzerland but his best display so far -- and not coincidentally, England's -- was against the Dutch in Dortmund.
"I think all of his performances have been exceptional, especially when you consider his age," Southgate told reporters.
"We haven't really had a player like him until now. It makes such a difference when your midfield players can receive (while being) pressed, turn with the ball so easily and comfortably.
"I thought him, Phil (Foden) popping up in spaces, Jude (Bellingham), our movement was really good. It caused a lot of problems and them to adapt without the ball."
Futsal background
Mainoo, who attributes his slick ability on the ball to his past playing futsal, the five-a-side small-pitch game requiring high levels of technique and skill, helped England dominate their opponents in the first half.
The Manchester United midfielder pinned the Netherlands deep in their own territory by aggressively putting heavy pressure on the ball every time they tried to break loose.
England benefitted from a slice of luck after Xavi Simons blasted Netherlands ahead when Harry Kane won a soft penalty, but after the England captain converted it to level the score, their superiority was evident.
With Mainoo pulling the strings in midfield it was hard for the Dutch to win the ball back and England boasted a higher possession at full time, with Ollie Watkins' 91st-minute strike saving them from a third successive period of extra-time.
"It will be, I would imagine, a long time since -- or if ever -- an English side had 60 percent of the ball against a side from the Netherlands," said Southgate.
"It shows the more modern England way and the resilience and the character of the group."
Mainoo's rise to prominence has even surprised those close to him by its speed.
Luke Shaw, his team-mate for club and country, said ahead of the Netherlands game that his "growth is scary" and that Mainoo has "the world at his feet".
That was laid bare on a heady night in Dortmund which propelled him to new heights, with the biggest game of his career awaiting in Berlin on Sunday.
Mainoo will have his work cut out against the team-of-the-tournament Spain in the final. La Roja midfielders Rodri Hernandez and Fabian Ruiz have been two of the stars of the summer.
However, Mainoo and Manchester United got the better of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, with the young midfielder scoring what proved to be the winner.
Asking for a repeat of that would be too much but Southgate will be delighted if he can just reproduce his near flawless display against the Netherlands.

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Zheng Qinwen Wins China’s First Olympic Tennis Singles Gold, Inspired by Li Na and Liu Xiang 

Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis - Women's Singles Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 03, 2024. Gold medalist Qinwen Zheng of China, silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia and bronze medalist Iga Swiatek of Poland pose with their medals. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis - Women's Singles Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 03, 2024. Gold medalist Qinwen Zheng of China, silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia and bronze medalist Iga Swiatek of Poland pose with their medals. (Reuters)
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Zheng Qinwen Wins China’s First Olympic Tennis Singles Gold, Inspired by Li Na and Liu Xiang 

Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis - Women's Singles Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 03, 2024. Gold medalist Qinwen Zheng of China, silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia and bronze medalist Iga Swiatek of Poland pose with their medals. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Tennis - Women's Singles Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 03, 2024. Gold medalist Qinwen Zheng of China, silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia and bronze medalist Iga Swiatek of Poland pose with their medals. (Reuters)

Right before Zheng Qinwen delivered the very first serve of a victory that would deliver China's very first Olympic tennis singles gold medal, loud shouts of “Jia You!” in Mandarin rang out from all sections of Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday as fans waved the country's red-and-yellow flags.

It’s a phrase that literally means “Add oil!” — in other words, “Hit the gas!” — and is loosely equivalent to “Let’s go!” Those yells resumed right after Zheng's opponent in the 2024 Paris Games women's final, Donna Vekic of Croatia, put her return into the net. And they were heard over and over again on a breezy, cloudy afternoon whenever things went Zheng’s way.

Which was rather often. The 21-year-old Zheng earned the biggest title of her still-nascent career by defeating Vekic 6-2, 6-3 with the same powerful serves and groundstrokes she used to eliminate No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.

“I always want to become one of the Asians that can inspire young kids and make them love tennis more, because tennis is such a great sport, especially for girls. You need to fight. You need to have strength. You need to be fast,” said Zheng, who signed several autographs for members of the crowd after the match. “After this gold medal, I feel, finally, I can play tennis more relaxed.”

Not that she hadn’t already shown plenty of promise. Zheng is ranked No. 7, after all, and was the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the hard-court Australian Open in January.

This triumph, though, could make her a real star at home. International Tennis Hall of Fame member Li Na is the only Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title — at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open — and served as inspiration for Zheng when she was a kid learning the sport.

“I have always been jealous of history-makers like Li Na,” Zheng said. “No matter what, she’s always the first, because she’s the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam. And I now become the first Asian player to win Olympic gold. I made history, as well. However, I still have a long way to go, because winning a Grand Slam is always my dream.”

The Olympic tennis matches are being played at Roland Garros, the clay-court facility that hosts the annual French Open. Swiatek is a four-time champion at that event, including titles there the past three years, and carried a 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros into her matchup with Zheng.

But Swiatek ended up with the bronze for Poland, and she snapped a selfie with Zheng and Vekic during the medal ceremony.

Vekic, a 28-year-old who is No. 21 in the rankings, got a silver three weeks after being a semifinalist on the grass courts at Wimbledon. She was so worn out by that run at the All England Club that she considered withdrawing from the Olympics.

“I had pain in my arm. Pain in my ankle. I was sick,” Vekic said. "Everything was happening all at once.”

In Paris, Vekic found her stride, including a victory over US Open champion Coco Gauff. On Saturday, that Vekic seemed spent, bending over and leaning on her racket.

What Zheng was most proud of, what she thinks made a big difference for her over the past week, was her patience during points and mental strength between them.

“If you talk about shots, I have better shots than Vekic. I know it,” Zheng said. “But in the final, it’s not about shots.”

After Zheng forced an error with a huge forehand to break serve and own the first set, she soon went up 2-0 in the second. That’s where Vekic made a bit of a stand, stealing one of Zheng’s service games and getting to 2-all.

But — with chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore asking spectators to refrain from making noise during points — Zheng took control anew, breaking to lead 5-3. When she smacked a forehand to close the win, Zheng slid onto her back on the clay, then got a Chinese flag from the stands, held it like a cape to roars and draped it over her sideline chair.

It wasn’t just Li who received a piece of credit from Zheng during her news conference.

Zheng spoke about admiring Roger Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion who retired in 2022, and studying his matches to learn technique and tactics: “The way that he plays — so classy,” she said. She talked about looking up to Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, whose victory in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Games was the nation’s first gold for a man in track and field.

And she discussed — and made sure to thank publicly — her parents. They started her in tennis at age 7. Mom quit her job when Qinwen was 12 to make sure she ate and slept properly. Dad, she said, “always pushed me hard,” taking her to a track to run up and down stairs, even on the Chinese New Year, when “everybody rests. But me? There’s no day of rest.”

“My success is not only my success. A lot of that is coming from my parents,” Zheng said. “They teach me how to be disciplined. They teach me how to stay focused on your dream. They always believed in me.”