Tuchel tells Alexander-Arnold to take England defensive role ‘very seriously’

Thomas Tuchel has told Trent Alexander-Arnold he must bring a single-minded focus to the defensive side of his game because one slip at the World Cup next summer could see England pack their suitcases and go home.

The head coach said he saw Alexander-Arnold as a right-back, albeit a “unique” one, rather than a midfielder as he named him in a 26-man squad for the qualifier against Andorra in Barcelona on 7 June and the friendly against Senegal in Nottingham three days later.

Tuchel’s headline selections were a recall for Ivan Toney and a first call-up for Trevoh Chalobah. There was also a recall for Conor Gallagher. Toney has scored 29 goals in 43 games for the Saudi Premier League club Al-Ahli since his move from Brentford last summer. Tuchel could find no room for Harry Maguire or Dominic Solanke. Marc Guéhi misses out with an eye injury.

Tuchel will train the squad in Barcelona from 2 June to get a feel for the heat that awaits teams at most of the World Cup venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico. One item on his extensive to-do list is to find out how best to accommodate Alexander-Arnold, who is poised to leave Liverpool as a free agent and sign for Real Madrid. He missed Tuchel’s first England camp in March because of injury.

“I can see that sometimes he relies heavily on his offensive contributions and gives not so much emphasis on the defensive discipline and effort,” Tuchel said. “This major impact that he had for Liverpool over so many years … if he wants to have this impact in the English national team then he has to take the defensive part very, very seriously.

“Because when we are talking, especially about qualifying football and then tournament football, the one defensive error, the one moment where you are not 100% awake, can be decisive. It can be the moment where you pack your suitcases and go home.”

The Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, said earlier on Friday he was “not completely happy with every minute” of Alexander-Arnold in training when he began to work with him last summer. “In certain moments, I felt he could do a bit more, to say it mildly,” Slot said. “I told him: ‘You are a much better defender than people tell you but you don’t show it all the time.’ I said: ‘If you are at it and concentrated, there are not many players who can go around you.’ Because he is fast, agile, has a great mentality. But it is about showing that every single game.”

Tuchel said there was “a point” to Slot’s comments: “We built [in] a back three [in his first England games against Albania and Latvia], with Kyle [Walker] or Reece James staying from the back four and having Myles [Lewis-Skelly] moving into midfield [from left-back]. From a 4-1 it became a 3-2 in possession.

View image in fullscreen The England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, has promised to manage the minutes of the players who will go to the Club World Cup in the US. Photograph: Bradley Collyer/PA

“That would not be ideal with Trent. It will not suit his strengths to be in the back three. It would suit his strengths from passing ability, passing range but it will be too deep and he would be in charge of recovery runs and being aggressive in the counter-pressing. That would just not suit his character. We need to find the role that suits him.”

Tuchel promised to manage the minutes of the players going to the Club World Cup, who head to the US after the Senegal game, including Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, who will delay shoulder surgery until after the tournament.

“He has played for many months – way too long, maybe – with this issue,” Tuchel said. “He plays with this huge shoulder strap under his shirt. From a purely medical point, it [the operation] should be yesterday. They keep delaying because of the importance of Jude.”

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Tuchel was pleased that Bellingham had made himself available for the England window, as had every player including Phil Foden, who said last Saturday he needed a “few weeks off without playing football”. Tuchel has taken the decision to exclude Foden, who has battled an ankle problem since early April, for fitness and form reasons. He is scheduled to play at the Club World Cup with Manchester City.

“With Phil, it is a mix between the performances since the last camp and his discomfort with his ankle,” Tuchel said. “Let’s be honest, even before that camp he was not in his best shape. He had not the impact and freedom in his game. We still picked him. I loved him as a person in camp and in training. But he could not transport it into the matches.

“It got a bit worse after that in the club. It seems to be stuck, not falling into place for him. So he has not minutes. He is not involved in goals, chances. And considering all these points, together with the fact that he is still complaining about his ankle, I said I will look at other players.”

Tuchel was asked whether it would be unwise for any player to pull out with less than rock solid reasons. “Very unwise,” he replied.

Tuchel discussed how he might tailor his tactics for matches in extreme heat next summer, plus the steps he will take to monitor and prepare his players. “We have reflected already on a game model,” he said. “Can you play high-pressing; man-to-man; transition games? I am curious to go to the Club World Cup and see the stadiums and actually feel the heat.

“We even have now in camp [in Barcelona] … we will test the players how they react to heat and all that stuff. Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup. I will be very surprised if we do not suffer.”

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