Laura Woods believes Thomas Tuchel make a ‘crazy’ mistake in his latest England squad and may recall Trent Alexander-Arnold for the World Cup.
Tuchel named an expanded 35-man squad for the March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan but still missed Real Madrid defender Alexander-Arnold.
Ex-England captain Wayne Rooney described Alexander-Arnold’s omission as ‘incredible’, while Gary Lineker said it was a ‘really insulting’ decision from Tuchel.
TV presenter Woods was also shocked by Alexander-Arnold’s absence and says it’s ‘madness’ to not a minimum of have the previous Liverpool star within the squad.
‘Trent Alexander-Arnold needs to be within the England squad on the very least, especially considering what number of players Thomas Tuchel picked,’ she told BetMGM.
‘He plays for Real Madrid! How can we not take him? I went to their game against Manchester City, where they won 3-0, and Trent was sensible.
‘He worked hard and he defended, which is at all times the most important criticism against him. I also think if you’ve gotten a solid defence you then can let him go forward and play those amazing passes – let Trent do what Trent does best.
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‘England will need that on the World Cup. You don’t need to play him every game. It’s horses for courses but leaving him out entirely is crazy to me.
‘Imagine his Real Madrid team-mates learning he’s being left behind by England. He’s not had the perfect start at Madrid but he’s also had injuries and it’s lots moving abroad.
‘It’s madness to not even include him. For his passing range alone he needs to be on that plane.’
Alexander-Arnold revamped 350 appearances for boyhood club Liverpool, helping them win two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
The 27-year-old joined Real Madrid last summer on a six-year deal and has impressed for the reason that Recent 12 months after a shaky begin to his Bernabeu profession.
Ex-Premier League manager Sam Allardyce has also questioned Tuchel’s decision to overlook Alexander-Arnold, telling Footy Accumulators: ‘I can’t quite understand that.
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‘I can’t understand it due to his qualities and his experience at Real Madrid could have made him even higher.
‘Anybody experiencing Real Madrid might be a greater player for it. He had his difficulties early on, but he seems to have settled in and is now playing frequently.
‘You can’t ignore his quality. He’s a bit suspect defensively, but that happens rarely due to his quality.
‘The amount of difficulties he causes the opposition along with his passing, particularly his long passing, his final ball and his crosses into the box – I’ve at all times been an admirer of him.
‘Who’s higher than him? If they’re on the lookout for a greater defender then high quality, but you’ll need to make up for the lack of his passing ability with the players in front of him.’
England drew 1-1 with Uruguay on Friday night and can hope for a greater performance after they face Japan on Tuesday.
Tuchel is attempting to guide England to only their second World Cup trophy and first since 1966. The Three Lions’ first World Cup game is against Croatia on June 17.
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