Injuries and some uncertainty in the England squad have provided an opportunity for the right-back
Trent Alexander-Arnold had his dream move but has not quite had his dream year. The former Liverpool, and now firmly Real Madrid, man has dealt with injury and struggled to assert himself in Spain, playing just 28 of Madrid’s 53 games so far this season.
But it takes time to shave in the morning, takes time to get out of a contemplative mood in a rain-plagued October. Players can certainly take time to settle at a new club. Arguably the bigger blow for Alexander-Arnold was being dropped from the England squad, failing to make even Thomas Tuchel’s bloated 35-man squad back in March.
The tale it told was that the unique right-back was not among the 35-best English players, not selected when it would have been much harder to leave players out than include them.
But Tuchel has now submitted his provisional 55-man squad to Fifa ahead of the World Cup, the manager weighing up his final options before naming a 26-man squad for the tournament. And Alexander-Arnold has been included. Can he make it stateside this summer?
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⚔️ @TrentAA pic.twitter.com/Xaw5r7Kl8G— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 12, 2026
Injuries in the squad have certainly reopened the door. England are facing some uncertainty at right-back, with Ben White now sidelined by a knee injury suffered against West Ham and Tino Livramento struggling for fitness.
Tuchel had previously indicated that White, Livramento and Reece James were ahead of Alexander-Arnold in his plans, even suggesting Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarrell Quansah was above him in the pecking order.
What the call-up does, at the very least, is give him time. With friendlies coming up against New Zealand and Costa Rica, he will be hoping for the chance to show just what his creativity can add to an at-times stiff England at the global showpiece.
