Jamie Carragher 'not surprised' by message Thomas Tuchel sent with Trent Alexander-Arnold snub
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Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has reacted to Trent Alexander-Arnold's omission from England's World Cup squad, saying Thomas Tuchel is prioritising squad harmony over qualityJamie Carragher has admitted he is unsurprised to see former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold overlooked by England once more, as Thomas Tuchel puts 'squad harmony over quality'. Alexander-Arnold's most recent outing for the Three Lions came 12 months ago when he came off the bench in the 1-0 victory over Andorra during their World Cup qualifying campaign.Having initially struggled to settle at the La Liga giants while also battling injury troubles, the Champions League and two-time Premier League winner, Alexander-Arnold played his part in attempting to rescue Los Blancos' season as they were forced to finish behind rivals Barcelona.Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!Carragher suggested that certain weaknesses in the 27-year-old's game played a role in Tuchel's decision-making, with the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss choosing squad harmony over quality — though overall, he was not taken aback by the outcome.He told Sky Sports: "We know Thomas Tuchel's stance regarding Trent.
When you look at some of the players in the squad it looks as though he's picking centre-backs who can do a job at right-back rather than out and out right-backs."We know there's the special qualities that Alexander-Arnold has. The qualities Trent has, and maybe the deficiencies is maybe why Tuchel hasn't picked him."He's looking at the negatives instead of the positives.
And following Tino Livramento being forced to pull out of the squad with a calf injury on Tuesday, Alexander-Arnold was passed over once again, with Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah receiving the call-up instead.Alexander-Arnold's club team-mate Jude Bellingham will be representing the Three Lions, though he has also encountered questions over his involvement. Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, he said: "When someone drops out like that, I do believe [with] the squad, you want to call up somebody with a minimum of fuss, no real media attention or disruption to the camp."So I do believe when someone did get injured, I don't think Trent would've ever been called up because the questions and everything will be about him, if it's a big game, it's about Croatia."If he called me up, it [the questions] would be about me, Luke Shaw the same, we've been to tournaments and play for big clubs, that's what you want when you bring someone up on standby.