Alexander-Arnold out of England squad its ridiculous his World Cup is in doubt

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Gareth Southgate’s handling of Trent Alexander-Arnold has long since baffled Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp.

“I respect the decision but I don’t understand it,” was Klopp’s reaction to the “standout right-back in world football” being left out of the squad for England’s World Cup qualifiers in March last year.

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Alexander-Arnold forced his way back into contention before the European Championship finals a few months later, but a thigh injury sustained in a warm-up game against Austria then cruelly wrecked his dream. Now he faces the growing prospect of watching a second major tournament in as many years from afar.

Klopp will have been scratching his head in disbelief again after the 23-year-old failed to make England’s 23-man squad for the Nations League group finale against Germany at Wembley tonight — their last match before the World Cup opener against Iran on November 21. His place on the plane to Qatar is now in serious doubt.

Many Liverpool supporters will view the idea of a lengthy winter break for Alexander-Arnold before the Premier League resumes on December 26 as a positive development in the club’s quest for further silverware. But Klopp won’t be celebrating.

He knows how much representing his country means to the ambitious academy graduate. Klopp will have to lift Alexander-Arnold’s chin off the floor on his return to Kirkby after he endured another snub from Southgate.

TRENT-ALEXANDER-ARNOLD-JURGEN-KLOPP-LIVERPOOL Klopp believes Alexander-Arnold is the ‘standout right-back in world football’ (Photo: David S Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Yes, it’s an area of the squad where England have real strength in depth with Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James all selected ahead of the Liverpool man. Southgate’s decision to play three at the back is another factor.

But none of those contenders offer the range of passing and creative spark that Alexander-Arnold does — skills that have been lacking during England’s wretched recent run. There’s a debate to be had over who should start on that flank but for Southgate not to even have someone of his calibre on the bench is ridiculous.

How demoralising it must be to report for international duty at St George’s Park knowing the man at the helm doesn’t believe in you. What a contrast to the blind loyalty shown to Harry Maguire, despite his ongoing struggles at club level with manchester United.

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Southgate is the antithesis of Klopp. He has always been more concerned about keeping opponents out rather than playing on the front foot and grasping the initiative. Just look at how England retreated during the final of the Euros against Italy last July, squandering that golden start provided by Luke Shaw’s second-minute goal.

It’s a lazy narrative that Alexander-Arnold is brilliant going forward but a liability defensively. It’s a stick people use to beat him with but much of the criticism ignores the role he plays for Klopp and the positions high up the pitch he is told to occupy in Liverpool’s tactical plan.

“If anybody says that Trent cannot defend then they can come to me and I’ll knock them down,” said Klopp after his right-back had expertly shackled Gabriel Martinelli during an impressive 2-0 win over Arsenal in March. “I cannot hear that anymore, I don’t know what more the boy has to do.”

England have strength in depth at right-back with Walker, centre, and Trippier, right, also available (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Alexander-Arnold would be the first to admit he has not hit the heights he is capable of yet this season. But then the same could be said for most of Klopp’s misfiring team, and he has certainly not been helped by the lack of protection from Liverpool’s injury-hit midfield.

Some of his critics have short memories. We’re talking about a player who in June was voted into the PFA’s team of the year for the third time by his peers after a season when he contributed 12 Premier League assists. Last month, he was named on the 30-strong shortlist for the 2022 Ballon d’Or.

At the age of 23, he has played in three Champions League finals and completed a clean sweep of the major domestic honours. At Liverpool, he’s a key figure in their leadership group and has embraced that extra responsibility.

There isn’t another Englishman at an elite club with his CV and his ability who has been so consistently ignored by his country.

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It’s not a case of squandering opportunities, he simply hasn’t had them.

Alexander-Arnold’s 17 caps include 14 starts, including his debut against Costa Rica in June 2018. He has been an unused substitute on 19 occasions, the latest being Friday’s defeat to Italy in Milan that rubber-stamped relegation from the top flight of the Nations League after England failed to score from open play for the fifth time in as many group matches.

Alexander-Arnold has only started back-to-back internationals once, and that was against Montenegro and Kosovo in 2019. Since the Euros ended 14 months ago, he has only made Southgate’s starting XI three times — and two of those were against minnows Andorra and San Marino.

That game against Andorra last September left Klopp perplexed as Southgate played Alexander-Arnold in an advanced central midfield role during the opening 45 minutes at Wembley before abandoning the experiment at the break.

“Why would you make the best right-back in the world as a midfielder? I don’t understand that really,” Klopp said. He felt that if Southgate really wanted to move him from right-back, it would have made much more sense to play him as the holding midfielder rather than as a No 8.

Alexander-Arnold has redefined the role of a right-back in the modern era with his remarkable attacking output.

Yet, bizarrely, he’s rarely been given the chance to showcase that against stellar opposition on the international stage because Southgate wants someone in that role who is more defensively minded.

What a waste.

What a failure to harness a special talent.

(Top photo: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

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