Thomas Tuchel lifts lid on 'difficult' Trent Alexander-Arnold phone call after England snub
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Thomas Tuchel has disclosed the "difficult" conversation he had when dropping Trent Alexander-Arnold, explaining his desire to inject more competitive edge into England's squad.
Tuchel, who also publicly apologized to Jude Bellingham, confessed he omitted the Real Madrid star due to his underwhelming form when measured against Reece James and Tino Livramento.
The England manager made it evident that Ben White would have earned selection too, had the Arsenal defender not sustained an injury that sidelines him from the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Former Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold has endured a challenging beginning at Real Madrid and was omitted from their starting XI that defeated Real Oviedo at the weekend.
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Tuchel explained: "I spoke to Trent.
Thomas Tuchel speaks to the media on Friday
It's evidently a lengthy journey back for Alexander-Arnold, with Tuchel also conceding uncertainty over whether his "repulsive" comment regarding Bellingham will impact their working relationship.
Tuchel sparked controversy in June when he revealed during a live radio discussion that even his own mother considered aspects of Bellingham's on-field conduct "repulsive."
Bellingham is absent due to a shoulder problem
Now it's a moment for Jude to focus on this rehab, and for us to focus on camp.
"I straight away made contact with Jude to make this very clear and, yeah, from there we go