Trent Alexander-Arnold handed early England World Cup squad verdict after Real Madrid woes | Football | Sport
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been narrowly backed to earn a place in the England squad for this summer’s World Cup. The right-back has struggled to make a serious impact at Real Madrid since joining the Spanish giants from Liverpool. He has only started 14 league games for the Spanish giants this season, with Dani Carvajal and Federico Valverde often being preferred on the right of defence.
However, the England man has recently worked his way into contention with five starts in the club’s last six matches. It has come at the perfect time as far as the Three Lions are concerned, with Thomas Tuchel facing a selection headache at right-back. Ben White is expected to miss the World Cup with a knee injury, while Tino Livramento is racing to recover from a thigh problem.
Reece James will almost certainly make the squad, but the Chelsea defender is injury-prone and cannot be relied upon as the sole option throughout the World Cup.
The right-back situation has opened the door for Alexander-Arnold to be recalled despite missing out on the squad that faced Uruguay and Japan in the most recent international break.
A slim majority of respondents to our latest poll said that he should be on the plane, with 51 per cent of voters backing the ex-Liverpool defender to make the cut.
However, the remaining 49 per cent of voters said that Alexander-Arnold didn’t deserve a place in the final squad, which will be announced on Friday.
He was named in the provisional group of 55 players that was submitted to FIFA last week, but that number will be slashed to just 26.
Only time will tell if Alexander-Arnold is named in the squad, with England’s injury crisis at right-back giving him a better chance of being picked.
It seems unlikely that he would walk straight into a starting role at the World Cup, given that Tuchel tends to prefer those who have impressed in earlier camps.
As a result, the likes of James and Livramento would probably be ahead of Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order. There is also a question over whether Tuchel will take as many as three specialist right-backs when Jarell Quansah can also deputise in that role.
A lot may depend on the fitness of Livramento, who will be desperate to make a full recovery before England fly across the Atlantic for the tournament.
They will play warm-up matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica in Florida before taking on Croatia in their World Cup opener on June 17.
