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England boast a star-studded squad as Thomas Tuchel prepares to lead them to the World Cup, but Roy Keane thinks there is a clear area in which the Three Lions are ‘not good’.
Tuchel named a 35-man squad for the current international break, during which England play two friendlies at Wembley.
They take on Uruguay on Friday night and then Japan on Tuesday, with players hoping to impress the boss in their final fixtures before travelling across the Atlantic this summer.
Given the size of the squad for the friendlies it was a surprise to see Real Madrid full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold miss the cut.
The 27-year-old has not been used much by Tuchel since he took charge of the Three Lions, but that has partly been down to injuries since his move to Spain from Liverpool.
Now fit and playing well, Alexander-Arnold was expected to be selected and Keane was especially surprised because he doesn’t see better defenders in the squad.
The former Reds star has been criticised for the defensive side of his game, but Keane does not think his rivals are particularly strong in that department either.
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The Manchester United legend said on Stick to Football: ‘The strange thing is when people say about Trent and his defensive stuff, but he must look at the other defenders ahead of him and go: “Well they’re not great defensively either!”
‘It’s not as if Tuchel is going, that’s going to be rock solid at the back, some of the lads ahead of him, they’re not even good defenders. There’s something going on.’
With Reece James out injured, the right-back options in Tuchel’s squad are Djed Spence, Tino Livramento and Ezri Konsa, with Ben White also coming in to replace the injured Jarell Quansah.
All four are capable of playing different roles across the back four, but Keane isn’t convinced that is a reason to pick a player, feeling the defensive qualities in the squad are below par.
‘We keep talking about the England squad and saying, well they can play in different roles. You want lads who are really good, don’t be a jack of all trades,’ he said.
‘Ben White’s only played seven league games for Arsenal. Seven!
‘You look at that squad and analyse it, defensively that England squad is not good, defensively.’
The Irishman added on Alexander-Arnold’s omission: ‘If you’re a player like Trent and you’re left out of a 35-man squad, I still think that’s on you, that’s on the player.
‘You must think, “how have I not done enough to persuade a manager to get me in a squad?” There must be something.
‘It’s about in the group. Tuchel said from day one, “I need lads who are good travellers,” all this type of thing and there’s something obviously about him he doesn’t like. It can’t be football. You don’t have to like everybody, but there’s something amiss, of course.’
What Tuchel said about Alexander-Arnold omission
‘I know very well what Trent can offer us. I played many times against him and suffered when he played against my teams with Liverpool. So I know very well about his strength and what he can give.
‘But at the moment it is like we have evidence how good we were in September, October, November, and the players who are in camp for right full-back, they have to push for their ticket, they have to compete, they have to show again that they deserve this.
‘I know that it’s a tough decision for Trent as it is for Ollie Watkins at the moment and for Luke Shaw. These tough decisions come with the job. It is a sporting decision.
‘It is a sporting decision that we stick with Quansah, with Livramento and with Spence. It is a decision for Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who I don’t know as well as I know, for example, Ollie Watkins.
‘I feel I have a very clear picture of what Ollie can give us. I saw him in tournaments. I saw him with us in qualifying football, so I want to have a look at two other players to get a better picture and have a clearer opinion.
‘I know it’s a tough one. I know it’s a big name. I think it’s a huge talent and with a big career, but I feel that I know what Trent can give us and decided still to stick to the players who were in camp.’
Wayne Rooney was stunned the Real Madrid star was not picked and suggested that Tuchel was trying to ‘split up’ a ‘clique’ including Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham.
‘The one big surprise was obviously Trent. I find it incredible that he’s not in a 35-man squad,’ he said on The Wayne Rooney Show. ‘It didn’t sound like there was any way back for Trent the way Tuchel spoke.
‘He should be in that squad, his ability, his quality. I’ve said it many times and I’m sure he’d say himself that he’s not the best defender, but what he has on the ball is something no other English player has. He’s been playing recently and he’s been playing really well.
‘There’s an argument he should be starting, so not having him in the squad, it feels a little bit deeper. I know he’s good mates with Jude and it looks like there’s been a few issues with Jude, so maybe he feels there’s a clique there and he’s trying to split it up. I don’t know what the reasons are.’
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