Sports
Trent Alexander-Arnold England omission ‘mind-boggling’ – Wayne Rooney
Former England captain Wayne Rooney says it is “mind-boggling” that Trent Alexander-Arnold was not included in Thomas Tuchel’s final squad before the head coach makes his World Cup selection.
Alexander-Arnold has featured regularly for Real Madrid since recovering from a thigh problem in January but was overlooked for England’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March, despite Chelsea right-back Reece James being absent through injury.
Arsenal full-back Ben White started both those games, scoring England’s opener in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay.
“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,” Rooney said on the Wayne Rooney Podcast.
Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, Tottenham’s Djed Spence and Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa were all picked ahead of Alexander-Arnold in Tuchel’s 35-man selection for England’s final home friendlies before the World Cup.
The former Liverpool star, who has been left out of Tuchel’s last four squads, has not played for his country since appearing off the bench in a World Cup qualifying victory over Andorra in June last year.
However, Rooney’s ex-Everton team-mate Phil Jagielka feels Alexander-Arnold deserves a place in the squad for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
“I think he probably still makes it,” Jagielka said. “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].”
Rooney would also start James on the right side of defence this summer, despite calling the 26-year-old “unreliable” as a full-back.
“Reece James isn’t the most defensive,” Rooney said. “In terms of the lads who are there, you wouldn’t say they’re the best defensively anyway, [any] of them.”
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Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio rejected transfer interest from Liverpool and Chelsea this summer – Paper Talk | Football News
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The Baltimore Ravens had just seven seconds to work with at the start of their drive – which proved to be just long enough to win the game in Brazil against the Dallas Cowboys.
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Manzambi is already in the discussion with fellow nominees Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, Real Madrid’s Yan Diomande and new Manchester City midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for the best young player in the world award.
He scored three goals in four games for Switzerland at the World Cup before a knee injury ended his tournament, only a year after making his full international debut.
It is a rapid rise for a player who used to return to Freiburg’s academy to do his washing.
Bernhard Weis, who gave Manzambi his debut for Freiburg Under-19s, told BBC Sport: “He is playing for the professionals and he comes to us at the academy and brings some dirty clothes.
“He didn’t have a washing machine so he comes here and washes some clothes.
“I would speak with him and then he would pick up some young guys from the under-13s, under-14s and take them to the train station.
“He would see the guys and say, ‘come with me, I’ll take you to the station’, so they could get home. That’s Johan Manzambi.”
As for his profile, though, Weis did not expect a Ballon d’Or nomination coming so quickly.
He added: “I didn’t see that. I saw something for the first team, for us, but this way, no chance.
“The first half year at Freiburg it was not so easy for him, he’s not so strong and he’s not so stable. He put on five kilos and then he thought, ‘now I go, it’s the right moment, I will be faster and stronger’.
Massimo Lombardo, Servette’s academy director agreed. He first worked with Manzambi when he was 15 and oversaw his early development before he moved to Freiburg as a 17-year-old in 2023.
“It is a real surprise for many people, that he can do something special so quickly,” he told BBC Sport.
“For me, the difference he can make is because of his mentality, personality, enthusiasm and courage. He has the technical skills and tactical skills and the physical possibility now to perform in England.
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