Wayne Rooney stunned by Trent Alexander-Arnold's England exclusion ahead of World Cup 2026

Wayne Rooney calls Trent Alexander-Arnold’s omission from England’s latest squad 'mind-boggling' as Thomas Tuchel finalizes World Cup plans.

Alexander-Arnold’s absence questioned Former England captain Wayne Rooney expressed shock at Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exclusion from Thomas Tuchel’s final England squad before the World Cup selection process. Alexander-Arnold has featured consistently for Real Madrid since recovering from a thigh injury in January but was not included in the March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, even as Reece James remained unavailable due to injury. Ben White, who started both matches for England, scored the opening goal in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay. Rooney admitted, 'No disrespect to Ben White – I think he’s a fantastic player – but for him to be in the squad and playing ahead of Trent is mind-boggling,' on his podcast. ## Tuchel’s squad choices scrutinized In Tuchel’s 35-man selection for England’s final pre-World Cup friendlies, Alexander-Arnold was left out in favor of Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, Tottenham’s Djed Spence, and Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa. This marked the fourth consecutive squad in which Alexander-Arnold was overlooked, with his last England appearance coming from the bench in a World Cup qualifier win over Andorra in June of the previous year. Former Everton teammate Phil Jagielka believes Alexander-Arnold still merits a place in the tournament squad. 'I think he probably still makes it,' Jagielka stated. 'You need your best players. If [Alexander-Arnold] proves he can play half as well as he played for most of his time at Liverpool, he’s definitely worth taking on the plane. If Reece James is fit, you put him in [at right-back].' ## James and defensive concerns Rooney suggested starting Reece James at right-back this summer despite calling the 26-year-old 'unreliable' in defensive duties. 'Reece James isn’t the most defensive,' Rooney explained. 'In terms of the lads who are there, you wouldn’t say they’re the best defensively anyway, [any] of them.' The former Liverpool player has not been England’s first choice at right-back in recent selections, with Jagielka arguing for Alexander-Arnold’s inclusion if he performs to his Liverpool standards. ## Left-back race tightens At left-back, Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly and Newcastle’s Lewis Hall are seen as the top contenders for England’s starting XI. O’Reilly has delivered nine goals and six assists in 50 appearances this season, while Hall has featured in 44 games and helped Newcastle reach the Champions League last 16. Jagielka praised O’Reilly but noted defensive vulnerabilities, saying, 'I really, really enjoy watching O’Reilly, but he gets caught out of defence. He doesn’t get asked to play left-back when he’s at Manchester City. I’d go O’Reilly at this moment in time, but there’s literally nothing between him and Lewis.' ## Shaw remains Rooney’s pick Rooney advocated for Manchester United’s Luke Shaw as England’s starting left-back, citing his defensive reliability over attacking contributions. 'We don’t need our full-backs to be the most attacking; we need them to defend,' Rooney argued. 'Keep the balance and let the attacking player win you the games. Luke Shaw can’t [attack] as much now, but what he can do is defend.' Shaw started for England at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup but has seen his attacking role diminish in recent seasons. ## Tuchel’s experimental approach Tuchel used the March friendlies to experiment with line-ups, including deploying Manchester City’s Phil Foden as a false nine against Japan in the absence of injured Harry Kane. Rooney acknowledged Tuchel’s efforts to evaluate fringe players but questioned the timing of squad decisions. 'We’ve created a pressure,' Rooney noted. 'I like what Tuchel has done, but I still think, at this stage, you should be having question marks on one or two players. It seems like he’s still trying to figure out the rest of his squad, and 10 [starting] players.' ## England’s World Cup schedule England’s World Cup campaign begins against Croatia in Dallas on June 17 at 22:00 BST, followed by a match against Ghana in Boston six days later at 21:00 BST. Their final group-stage fixture is against Panama in New Jersey on June 27 at 22:00 BST. The squad selections and tactical decisions made in the lead-up to the tournament remain a topic of debate among pundits and former players.