In England's Europa League last 16 clash against Slovakia, young starlet Minnay, 19, was given a starting berth by manager Shovki. His outstanding performance even earned him high praise from Manchester United midfielder Kierney, who believes that Minnay needs 10 years to master his style of play.
At 19 years and seven days old, Minnay became the third youngest player in England's history to play in the knockout stages, behind 18 years and 198 days at the 1998 World Cup and 18 years and 244 days at the 2004 European Cup.
Minnay received a yellow card just seven minutes into the game, but that did not stop him from playing. He excelled both offensively and defensively, with a pass success rate of 96% in all 84 minutes, contributing one key pass, two shots on goal, and six successful confrontations with four wins over the opposition.
After the match, Kennedy was full of praise for the United scion: "I used to play in Minnay's position and did quite well. It will take me 10 years to learn him, but he's fundamentally solid and as you can see from the important games, Minnay is very comfortable." As for previous attempts by Shovki to assign Aleksandar Arnott to the defensive midfield, which did not work out well, it is expected that Minnay will remain in the starting lineup against Switzerland in the Round of 8.
