Thomas Tuchel selected a 35-man squad for England’s upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, excluding Trent Alexander-Arnold. The 27-year-old endured an injury-hit start to his Real Madrid season but has since delivered strong performances as a first-team regular.
Tuchel overlooked Alexander-Arnold despite Reece James’s injury absence. When Jarrel Quansah withdrew, Tuchel opted for Ben White instead. Tottenham’s Djed Spence and Newcastle’s Tino Livramento earned spots as right-backs, with Ezri Konsa available to cover the role.
Tuchel Addresses Alexander-Arnold’s Social Media Post
Alexander-Arnold shared Instagram photos from Real Madrid’s match against Atletico Madrid, captioned: ‘Madrid. And nothing else.’
Asked about the post, Tuchel responded: “Well, fair enough, fair enough. I think it is a very hard decision that we took. No doubt about his talent, no doubt about his career and what he can give to teams.”
He explained: “We created a slightly different game model when he was not in camp in September, October, November – it was a game model that was built on intensity and positivity, built even on the profile of the right full back on overlaps, underlaps, very intense. It was a slightly different profile of players in camp who performed so well. We just stick to these guys.”
Tuchel Describes Omission as ‘Hard Decision’
Tuchel confirmed a phone call with Alexander-Arnold to discuss the exclusion. He stated: “He was with us in June, he should have maybe deserved a second chance. It is a very hard decision, I am aware of it.”
“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. It’s just a choice. A ‘sportive’ choice. A difficult choice and maybe a hard choice – and maybe to a certain degree unfair, but these choices have to be made.”
Tuchel prioritized players from recent camps: “I think I know what Trent can give us, so the choice was for Ben (White) and for Tino Livramento, to stick with the guys who actually had good camps with us in September, November, December. They also need the minutes and there are a lot of good players for this position and Djed Spence as well, who fights for a ticket.”
He added: “He took it on his chin, he will keep on going, I will make sure I see some matches from Real Madrid and maybe a Champions League match live to get my last impressions. He is on a long list and everyone is still in the mix but at the moment some other guys are just ahead.”
Alexander-Arnold has featured 21 times for Real Madrid this season, providing three assists but no goals.
