Wayne Rooney's bluntest line was aimed at Trent Alexander-Arnold, calling his England omission “mind-boggling”. The bigger point was the one beneath it. Rooney also sounded uneasy that Thomas Tuchel still appears to be working out most of England's starting XI this close to the World Cup, with Alexander-Arnold left out of Tuchel's last four squads and not having played for England since a World Cup qualifying victory over Andorra in June last year.
Why Rooney thinks the squad is still unsettled
Rooney did not frame this as one isolated full-back call. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “No disrespect to Ben White – I think he's a fantastic player – but for him to be in the squad and playing ahead of Trent is mind-boggling.” He then added: “It seems like he's still trying to figure out the rest of his squad, and 10 [starting] players.”
That is the sharper criticism here. Rooney is not only saying Alexander-Arnold should be involved, he is saying Tuchel still has too much work to do on the rest of the team. White started both England friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, and scored England's opener in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay, which at least explains why he has stayed in the picture.
Rooney's view on full-backs is also pretty clear. “We don't need our full-backs to be the most attacking; we need them to defend. Keep the balance and let the attacking player win you the games. Luke Shaw can't [attack] as much now, but what he can do is defend.” That is a preference for security over extra flair, and it is a fair position even if it leaves room for argument about Alexander-Arnold's quality.
The left-back debate is still open
The wider selection picture is not just about Alexander-Arnold. Phil Jagielka said of Nico O'Reilly and Lewis Hall: “There's literally nothing between him and Lewis.” The numbers back that up. O'Reilly's Premier League rating is 6.91 across 32 appearances, while Hall's Premier League rating is 6.92 across 27 appearances.
Jagielka also pointed out that O'Reilly “gets caught out of defence”, which matters because he does not play left-back for Manchester City in the same way he is being judged here. Hall, meanwhile, has 44 games in all competitions and helped Newcastle reach the Champions League last 16.
The left side of England's defence is clearly still a live debate, and Rooney's broader complaint fits that uncertainty. But his strongest point remains the same one he started with: if Alexander-Arnold is out of the squad entirely, the decision needs to look stronger than this. For now, it does not.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →
