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Thomas Tuchel named a bumper squad for England's games against Uruguay and Japan, challenging players to punch their plane ticket for the World Cup.
After eight wins out of eight without conceding a single goal during qualification. Tuchel appears to have a good idea of his core group for the tournament in North America, but a handful of places remain up for grabs.
The German coach named an expanded 35-man squad for the March internationals, with the strong inference that if a player was going to make the final 26 for the World Cup, they probably had to be involved here if fit.
Trent Alexander-Arnold wasn't, continuing a complicated relationship with the national team for one of the most gifted England players of this generation.
MORE: England squad for March 2026: Thomas Tuchel's roster for Uruguay and Japan friendlies
Why is Trent Alexander-Arnold not playing for England?
Initially, Alexander-Arnold's battle for a place in the Three Lions side was compromised by fierce competition for places. At right-back, Kyle Walker was a more conventional option and joined the then-Liverpool favorite in the conversation for being the best in the position in the world.
Kieran Trippier was a Gareth Southgate favorite after starring at right wing-back during England's surprise run to the 2018 World Cup semifinals. Alexander-Arnold travelled to Russia as a 19-year-old with a bright future after a breakthrough season at Liverpool.
Fast-forward to the rearranged Euro 2020 in 2021, and Alexander-Arnold's place in the squad for the final was in doubt before a hamstring injury ruled him out. Walker was entering his career prime at Manchester City, Trippier had moved to Atletico Madrid and won La Liga and Reece James had just won the Champions League with Chelsea (then managed by Tuchel, as it happens).
Since the 2018 World Cup, Alexander-Arnold had won the Champions League and Premier League as a key cog in Jurgen Klopp's brilliant Liverpool team, but his sometimes subpar defending had become a talking point. Klopp's Reds relied on Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson providing width and attack thrust from full-back to service the lethal front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. They were thrilling in full flight, but amid the different and less-honed demands of international and tournament football, Trippier and Walker were perhaps understandably seen as more dependable by Southgate.
Alexander-Arnold traveled to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, making a solitary substitute appearance in the group stage against Wales. Southgate experimented with a midfield role for the player during qualification for Euro 2024 and started with Alexander-Arnold at the base of his midfield. It was an experiment that lasted for one-and-a-half games, although he did enjoy scoring the decisive penalty in a quarterfinal shootout win over Switzerland.
After being a fixture under interim boss Lee Carsley, Alexander-Arnold has only played once under Tuchel, from the bench against Andorra last year. This was presumed to be mainly a fitness issue, but after starting both legs of Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 win over Manchester City, he was left out of this bumper squad.
To paint an even bleaker picture for Alexander-Arnold, Walker and Trippier have retired and James is currently sidelined through injury. Instead of the 27-year-old, Tuchel has picked Newcastle's Tino Livramento and Tottenham's Djed Spence. Alexander-Arnold's one-time Liverpool understudy Jarrel Quansah was also picked, only to withdraw and be replaced by Ben White, the Arsenal defender who left England's camp during the Qatar World Cup and has not played since.
Livramento started the game against Uruguay at Wembley, with Spence taking the left-back berth — a demonstration of versatility that perhaps counteracts the fact he plays for this Tottenham team in Tuchel's final analysis.
MORE: How did England get on without Trent Alexander-Arnold against Uruguay?
What did Thomas Tuchel say about Trent Alexander-Arnold?
Tuchel told reporters that he had spoken to Alexander-Arnold and explained his selection as a "sportive" decision, although he did not entirely close the door on the Liverpudlian making his final squad.
It must be said, nevertheless, that his chances feel remote at this stage — especially given Tuchel's explanation that the tactical model he has established for his England side might have moved it further away from suiting Alexander-Arnold's best qualities.
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"I think it's a very hard decision that we took. No doubt about his talent, no doubt about his career and what he can give to teams," Tuchel said. "We created a slightly different game model when he was not in camp in September, October, November. It was a game model built on intensity, built on positivity, built even in the profile of the right full back on overlaps on underlaps, very intense.
"So it was a slightly different profile of players who were with us in camp and who performed so well. We just stick to these guys that is on his back and maybe he was with us in June and he should have maybe deserved a second chance.
"It is a very hard decision. I'm aware of it, but yeah, he took it on his chin. He will keep on going. I will make sure that I see some matches from Real Madrid, maybe [in the] Champions League to get my last impressions. He's on the long list and everyone is still in the mix, but at the moment, some other guys are just ahead of him."
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