England World Cup squad predictions: Trent snub is madness from Thomas Tuchel

I was told a story once about Fabio Capello and his bemusement at the English obsession with debating players who were left out of his national team squads. 

There was particular perplexity when he would be asked questions from journalists debating his third-choice goalkeeper, as if it mattered given the unlikely set of circumstances that would need to for the second reserve goalie to ever get minutes in a proper match situation.

The joke was nearly on Capello at the 2010 World Cup when Rob Green's howler in the opening match against USA left a nation questioning who should wear the gloves for the rest of the tournament. 

There was chaos when Capello seemed as confused as anyone as to what to do next, before promoting David James to his new number one over Green and Joe Hart. Maybe he should have spent more time thinking about his keeping choices because in a tournament, the team that starts rarely finishes.

There's even more emphasis on squad depth this year as extreme weather conditions are expected in North America and a 48-team tournament adds an extra round to the knockout phase. 

Players who go deep in European competitions will have been on the go all season, and some of them since before the campaign even started thanks to last summer's Club World Cup adding to the fatigue factor.

Thomas Tuchel has some tough decisions to make before finalising his 2026 World Cup squadCredit: The FA via Getty Images

So every choice needs to be considered carefully because the majority of the squad will have a part to play. And that makes it all the more bizarre that England coach Thomas Tuchel believes Trent Alexander-Arnold is not good enough, suggesting the German wants a different profile of player for upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

"It is a sporting decision that we stick with Jarell Quansah, Tino Livramento and Djed Spence," said Tuchel, who also used Ezri Konsa in the right-back position against Wales and has left Alexander-Arnold out of four successive international squads.

In some respects it doesn't matter much whether Alexander-Arnold goes to the World Cup because he will almost certainly be on the bench given Reece James is a class act and one who Tuchel trusts to deliver consistently.

However, James is currently sidelined again and is injury-prone. There are no guarantees he would be able to play an entire tournament, one England will hope extends to the final and involves eight games, and it is madness to suggest Quansah, Livramento and Spence are better options than Real Madrid's Alexander-Arnold. 

It has taken time for the right-back to settle at the Bernabeu following his controversial departure from boyhood club Liverpool last summer. But he started both legs of the last-16 win over Manchester City and is getting back to something like his best.

There have always been question marks over his concentration, although he has never been as bad in that department as some suggest. You don't win two Premier League titles and a Champions League if you totally abandon your defensive duties.

Alexander-Arnold collected 64 assists in 259 Premier League appearances for Liverpool. That's an assist nearly every four games and he might have been the difference between winning and losing a tight knockout tie.

Latest odds to make England's 2026 World Cup squad

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