Thomas Tuchel is still defending his call on Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the criticism around it is only getting louder. The England manager has stuck to the line that it is a sporting decision, but Alexander-Arnold has been left out of the 35-man squad for the March friendlies and has won just one of his 34 England caps under Tuchel.

Tuchel put it plainly: “I know that it's a tough decision for Trent. These tough decisions come with the job.” He also said: “It is a sporting decision that we stick with Jarell Quansah, with Tino Livramento and with Djed Spence who all can play for us on the right full-back position.”

Tuchel's selection case

His explanation has not changed much. Tuchel has said Alexander-Arnold's defensive discipline and effort were not where he wanted them to be, and he added that, in qualifying football and tournament football, one defensive error can be decisive. That is a fair selection argument if you start from caution first. It is also why he has leaned on other options at right-back rather than moving back toward the Liverpool man.

The problem is that England's alternative plan is being tested in public. Djed Spence has started two of England's four World Cup games and has 10 caps in total. He has also played 180 minutes, which tells you Tuchel is not treating the position like a spare part.

The asterisk pundits raise

The pushback has been blunt. Alan Shearer said Tuchel had taken “a huge gamble” by choosing unity over quality. Gary Neville asked, “In a 26-man squad, how can we not have a place for Trent?” Roy Keane called it “a head scratcher.” John Terry went even further, questioning Tuchel's treatment of Spence and suggesting the manager was having “a proper dig at him.”

England are top of Group L with 7 points from 3 games, so this is not a crisis born of bad results. England have scored 6 and conceded only 2. But the right-back debate keeps hanging over a squad that has enough attacking strength to mask other issues, with Harry Kane's output sitting in a different part of the conversation entirely.

Tuchel can keep framing this as a defensive choice, and there is logic in that. The harder part is that the right-back cover he has trusted has already been on the pitch for 180 minutes, and the debate has not gone away. England face Mexico next on 2026-07-06, and the selection discussion will follow them into that game.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →