Alexander-Arnold must accept 'unfair' England snub, says Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel's England face Uruguay on Friday (Henry NICHOLLS) England manager Thomas Tuchel says he has been "a degree unfair" on Trent Alexander-Arnold after excluding the Real Madrid right-back despite naming a 35-man squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. The matches at Wembley on Friday and Tuesday are the final opportunities for players to impress in an England shirt before Tuchel names his squad for the World Cup. However, Alexander-Arnold's chances of selection for the tournament in north America appear slim as he not only missed out on the initial squad, but was also overlooked in favour of Arsenal's Ben White after Jarrell Quansah dropped out due to injury.
White has not played for England since leaving the 2022 World Cup early and then making himself unavailable for selection under Tuchel's predecessor, Gareth Southgate. "A sportive choice. Maybe a hard choice and maybe to a degree unfair," said Tuchel on Thursday when asked to explain the omission of former Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold.
"I know it creates noise when you leave a player like Trent out. We had a call, I tried to explain the situation. He just has to accept it.
" After an injury-hit start to his Madrid career, Alexander-Arnold has ousted Dani Carvajal to become a regular under Alvaro Arbeloa and played a starring role as the Spanish giants beat Manchester City to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. The decision to bring White back into the international fold instead has been criticised. White reportedly had a falling out with Southgate's assistant Steve Holland which led to his England exile.
"Once I asked Ben if he would be ready to play for me and for England, he straightaway, without hesitation, said he would love to come back and was desperate to come back," added German boss Tuchel. "The reaction came within seconds. It was very euphoric, very positive and very emotional about it.