England begin their 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday, with questions still surrounding Thomas Tuchel’s decision to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his squad. The Real Madrid defender was one of several high-profile omissions, alongside Phil Foden and Cole Palmer.

Alexander-Arnold was in and out of the Real Madrid team during his first season in Spain, mirroring his England career trajectory in recent years. Despite his undoubted ability on the ball, questions about his defensive awareness and tactical discipline, both essential qualities for a right back, continue to follow him.

The 27-year-old’s omission from the final roster was not a huge surprise. Alexander-Arnold was not included in Tuchel’s 55-player preliminary squad, and he has not played for England since June 2025.

The former Liverpool defender was regularly overlooked for a place in the starting lineup by Gareth Southgate, Tuchel’s predecessor, although he did begin Euro 2024 in midfield, an experiment widely viewed as unsuccessful.

Tuchel’s “team-first” philosophy

“From day one we were clear we were trying to build the best possible team, which is not necessarily the 26 most talented players,” Tuchel explained after announcing his World Cup roster.

“Teams win championships, and what we’re trying to achieve can only be achieved as a team,” the German continued. “We have players ready and committed to the idea of team spirit and being unselfish.”

“We have specialists for different scenarios, when we’re leading, when we’re chasing a result. We have always said we want to be a strong set-piece team, so we have specialists for that, and we want to be a strong penalty team, we have specialists for that.”

Difficult decisions on England’s biggest stars

Although the former Chelsea coach did not mention Alexander-Arnold individually, he suggested leaving out one of England’s most gifted technical players was one of the toughest parts of selecting his squad.

“I’m very confident in the group we chose,” Tuchel said. “Very difficult decisions. Painful conversations. Difficult to explain to the players. But what we try to achieve we achieve as a team.

“If everyone is selected, it’s a given we have to leave some extraordinary players and extraordinary personalities at home.”

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