This was not part of the plan for England and Manchester United superstar Kobbie Mainoo.
Sixteen months is a long time in football, but Mainoo has made time move at lightspeed.
Think back to March 2023: an 18-year-old Mainoo was coming off the bench for England Under-19s in a qualifier against Hungary and yet to start a match in the Premier League.
Concurrently, Spain lost to Scotland in a match that would trigger Rodri‘s 74-match unbeaten streak for club and country.
Somehow, Mainoo’s path would cross with Rodri’s at the end of that run, and they will do battle on the biggest stage of all at the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday.
Mainoo’s meteoric rise to the top of football is quite remarkable, given he was barely considered a senior player at club level until November 2023.
Back in that fateful March, the Carrington academy graduate was only on the cusp of Man United’s first-team, having recently made his senior debut against Charlton in the EFL Cup and appearing as a substitute in a Premier League victory over Leicester.
For talented teenagers, this usually marks the beginning of a steady rise to prominence.
Phil Foden, for instance, played at every youth level for England, making his senior debut aged 20 and then spending years trying to establish a regular place in the Manchester City first-team.
Mainoo, though, has skipped all of that. He took the fast-track route and did not even have time to play for England’s Under-21s.
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The teenager’s heroics in the semi-final win over the Netherlands was only his third senior start for his country.
You would have never guessed if the first-half of that game was your first Mainoo experience.
Speaking at half-time, talkSPORT host Adrian Durham said: “This kid, who’s 19 years, 82 days old, he’s the youngest player to play in semi-finals of a major tournament for England.
“I can’t really believe what I’m seeing, how mature he is.
“Bear in mind how few first-team games he’s played for Man United.
“But he’s just playing like he belongs in a European Championship semi-final in an England shirt.”
And England legend Stuart Pearce added: “It’s the maturity, it’s the confidence, it’s the good arrogance.
“Give me the ball and I’ll look after the ball. It’s just quality to watch, to be quite honest with you.”
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It is not the first time, either. Man United fans will tell you he bossed Liverpool’s midfield in the FA Cup last season, too.
Having been at Old Trafford since the age of nine, a stunning breakthrough season for the Red Devils culminated in Mainoo scoring a winner in the FA Cup final against Man City.
In doing so, he broke Rodri’s incredible run of 74 games without losing a match for City – the longest invincible run by a player in history.
At 28, the Manchester City midfielder is already a football legend, with four Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy locked away in his cabinet.
He has been one of the most important members of team that many consider the greatest in English football history.
And yet, a man who just arrived on the same stage could now put a second dent in Rodri’s legacy.
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Suddenly, Mainoo heads to the biggest game of the football season as one of his nation’s most important players.
Rodri is still unbeaten in 470 days for Spain and major tournament success with La Roja would help crown him as the best midfielder of his generation.
Time gives Mainoo no right to share the same stage and fight for the same heritage.
But sixteen months in the life of Mainoo shows that time means very little.
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