Former Scotland and Liverpool captain, Graeme Souness, has urged England coach, Gareth Southgate to include Trent Alexander-Arnold in his squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Alexander-Arnold was benched for England during the 1-0 loss to Italy on September 23 at San Siro, Italy and he was also excluded from the matchday squad that played a 3-3 draw with Germany on September 26 at Wembley Stadium in England.
Souness emphasized Arnold’s qualities that will be important to the Three Lions going forward, as published on talkSPORT.
“With Trent he’s got so much quality when he gets in the last third,” Souness said of Alexander-Arnold importance in Southgate’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
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“He’s the most wonderful kicker of a ball, he pings those crosses in flat, pacey, arriving at the sweet spot in the centre of the goal.
“He typifies that saying of ‘he could land the ball on a six pence’. He’s a wonderful kicker of a ball. Yeah, he’s got deficiencies when it comes to defending, but what he gives going forward far outweighs that.
“In saying that I think for tournament football, you have to start a game believing you’re gonna play the very best of what team you’re playing against, so in that case, you may start with someone who’s a better defender – but you’ve got to include Trent in your World Cup squad. You’ve got to include him.”
Alexander-Arnold has scored one goal in 17 appearances for the Three Lions of England. He has scored one goal in six Premier League games for Liveroool this season.
England are in Group B at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Wales, Iran, and the United States of America (USA).
The Three Lions finished in fourth place at the last 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia after losing 2-0 to Belgium at the Krestovsky Stadium on July 14. England also finished in fourth position at Italia ’90 losing 2-1 to Italy at the Stadio San Nicola on July 7 1990.
By Toju Sote
