In years to come, we may have to explain to younger generations how Trent Alexander-Arnold won so few caps for England.
Alongside the uncapped Steve Bruce, the mercurial Matt Le Tissier, the gifted Steve McManaman and the unassuming Michael Carrick, Alexander-Arnold is one of those players whose face just never quite fit for the national side.
Of course, strength in the position didn’t help his cause; ahead of him was the lightning-fast Kyle Walker who rarely let England down. While he wasn’t the most astute defender or even as technically gifted as Alexander-Arnold, his outstanding physical assets made him a regular fixture in the side for a decade.
But it doesn’t go all the way to explaining why Alexander-Arnold, a Premier League and UEFA Champions League winner, a PFA Young Player of the Year winner, three times named in the PFA Team of the Year (the same as Walker during his City days) who was wanted and signed by Real Madrid, was never quite able to make an impact for England.
Ultimately, Alexander-Arnold’s skill set is unique. Undeniably one of English football’s most technically gifted footballers, the former Liverpool man was perfectly utilised by Jurgen Klopp and on two occasions was the second-highest assist provider in the Premier League, finishing behind Kevin De Bruyne and team mate Mohamed Salah on those occasions.
Not an overlapping wing-back who’d fly up and down the touchline and not a defensively robust full-back who could act as a third defender, Alexander-Arnold was a conductor, starting attacks from unlikely positions and occupying positions taken up by the likes of De Bruyne.
The criticism of Alexander-Arnold – and not all of it unfair – was that his defensive work wasn’t up to scratch. As a one-on-one defender, Alexander-Arnold was too easily beaten. He wasn’t positionally clever enough to be alert to danger around him. Of course, for Liverpool, that rarely mattered. They were a team who’d dominate the ball and Klopp was more interested in his abilities on it than his deficiencies off it.
But it would harm his chances with the national side. While Walker could be caught out of position, he had the recovery pace for it to often not matter. Alexander-Arnold didn’t.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t justify Alexander-Arnold’s lengthy omission from the England setup under Thomas Tuchel.
England lacking creativity
Tuchel clearly has his favourites and his most trusted deputies – as most international managers do – but his inability to recognise what is staring him in the face is one of his biggest weaknesses as a manager.
Of Tuchel’s 26 World Cup squad members, nine were defenders, and Alexander-Arnold wasn’t one of them.
With Ezri Konsa, John Stones and Marc Guehi the three centre-back options, Tuchel decided that even more was needed in the shape of Trevoh Chalobah, Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah. Even Reece James could slot into the centre of defence if needed. Of course, Burn and Quansah offered versatility, but neither provided the X-factor of an Alexander-Arnold.
The strange thing about Tuchel’s squad building is how insistent he was on runners: Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford, Noni Madueke, even Djed Spence from a defensive perspective, and yet neglected the players who could actually find them. Adam Wharton: absent. Cole Palmer: absent. Alexander-Arnold: absent.
It’s clear that Tuchel didn’t sufficiently rate the 27-year-old’s defensive work, but his two right-back options were Reece James, who the entire world knew wouldn’t stay fit for an eight-game World Cup, and Quansah, whose defending saw him shown a straight red card for a reckless tackle that threatened to send England home.
All teams with ambitions of winning a World Cup will need to make changes from the bench at some point, something to change the approach depending on what is needed, perhaps to increase the tempo or add more control. But when looking at game-changers from the bench, Tuchel turned to Burn on two occasions.
So often throughout the World Cup England lacked creativity. While it was hard to foresee England ever needing to score against DR Congo to avoid the most humiliating World Cup exit, it wasn’t hard to foresee England needing someone who could bring something different at some point.
Anthony Gordon reveals true feelings
And against Czechia on Tuesday night, Tuchel saw just that. England’s opener was perhaps Alexander-Arnold in a microcosm. With Czechia in possession, the right-back is actually stood in an offside position, and had they countered perhaps fingers would have been pointed. But the Real Madrid man recovers a loose ball, and when setting himself to cross, Gordon is stood 25 yards from goal, five yards behind the Czech defensive line.
It's a cross few would have seen let alone attempted, yet Alexander-Arnold spots the run and delivers and inch-perfect delivery allowing Gordon to head home.
To cross a ball so well that Anthony Gordon can score a header is a work of genius.
A slip of the tongue from Gordon perhaps revealed how more squad members feel about Alexander-Arnold’s omission.
Speaking to ITV after the game, Gordon said: “I’ve been dying to play with him for that reason. He's had his own journey with England. Probably should have played…” Gordon then corrects himself to say “Probably would have liked to play more than he has.”
Perhaps Gordon genuinely misspoke. But perhaps he voiced his true feelings, though Alexander-Arnold should have played more than he has, and realised it risked undermining his manager.
Either way, forwards love playing with Alexander-Arnold, knowing that as long as they make the run, the ball will find them.
Tuchel has seen that first-hand now. And while Alexander-Arnold might not suddenly become Tuchel’s first-choice right-back, he cannot be excluded from any more squads.
