Trent Alexander-Arnold was considered to have ‘struggled’ in England’s 1-1 draw with North Macedonia.
The Englishman was hardly the only one, with national media left somewhat disappointed by the Three Lions’ final group stage clash.
Standard: “Played in a deeper position than on Friday, but saw the ball considerably less. Fewer long balls too. Booked for complaining with the ref.”
Express: “North Macedonia did not let the Liverpool star have a sniff on Monday night. The harsh tackling from his opponents got under the skin of the fullback and he struggled to make an impact, with a cheap booking making his life difficult in midfield. Alexander-Arnold is usually an ever-reliable creative outlet, but he produced very little on Monday night.”
Daily Mail: “Struggled to control the game as he did against Malta and as we have become accustomed to seeing in an England shirt. Was booked when he showed his frustrations in the second period. May well now be ahead of Kalvin Phillips in the midfield pecking order.”
The 25-year-old featured in a heavily-rotated side that also saw Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins handed starts.
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Nothing to be concerned about
It’s a rather different role to the one our No.66 has been entrusted with at Liverpool where Jurgen Klopp tasks him with inverting from the fullback position.
With so many changes coming across the pitch too we’d be inclined to take the reviews with a pinch of salt.
Of greater concern is the heavy supply of minutes Trent received from Gareth Southgate mere days away from our upcoming trip to the Etihad this weekend.
We can only hope there’s enough time for our star defender to rest his legs and prepare adequately for the biggest challenge of our season yet.