Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left Liverpool for Real Madrid a year ago, will not feature at this year's World Cup after being left out of Thomas Tuchel's 26-man squad
09:17, 08 Jun 2026
Jamie Carragher has offered his opinion
Jamie Carragher has offered his opinion(Image: The Overlap)
Jamie Carragher has accused England head coach Thomas Tuchel of prioritizing harmony over talent after leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold and other superstars out of his World Cup squad.
Former Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold failed to make Tuchel's 26-man squad for the tournament, despite establishing himself as Real Madrid's first-choice right-back. Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Harry Maguire were among the other England stars left at home.
The World Cup starts on Thursday, with England's first game against Croatia still nine days away. Liverpool icon Carragher was asked about Tuchel's Three Lions squad on the latest episode of The Overlap and didn't hold back, suggesting the team will struggle.
"I think when you look at the squad, Thomas Tuchel put energy, athleticism, and harmony over talent," said Carragher on The Overlap Fan Debate, a World Cup Special brought to you by Sky Bet. "I think most people would probably say Harry Maguire is a better player than Dan Burn, but I know he loves Dan Burn in and around the squad.
"I know Anthony Barry (Tuchel's assistant) a little, and they put great story in this togetherness and how we're going to be as a group for, hopefully, six weeks. But this is bigger than just having talent to play. We can't have anybody who brings the group down in any way, or a negativity that they're not playing or they're throwing their arms about.
"This is about we're going to be a team, and he's not daft, Tuchel, he obviously knows in Foden, Palmer, Trent, that they’re probably three of the most technical players we've got right now. But they're not in the squad.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss the World Cup
Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss the World Cup(Image: Getty Images)
"You look at how they're going to go about winning the World Cup — it won't be about playing amazing football or pressing, but set pieces are going to play a big part in it as well. So maybe that's in their idea, maybe also rotation?
"And the thing that I thought was interesting is when he picked the four wingers — (Noni) Madueke, (Bukayo) Saka, (Anthony) Gordon, and (Marcus) Rashford — normally when you're picking a squad, you'll think, okay, we'll have a quick one and then we might have one who gets between the lines but no, our wingers are just going to be fast.
"We're not going to have a Foden or a Palmer who maybe gets in the pockets. If Saka's not playing, Madueke's just going to do the same thing.
"But it's about pace, it's about energy, it's about runners. It's not players getting between the lines. And if you go back to the last tournament, that was the criticism, wasn't it?
"At (Gareth) Southgate, there was almost too many of those players. He was trying to fit them in."
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The Three Lions haven't won a major tournament for 60 years, but they are edging closer to success, losing the Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 finals to Italy and Spain, respectively. Yet Carragher isn't feeling confident about England's chances.
He added: "I do have a little fear — I think Gareth Southgate's going to be a lot more appreciated in the next five to 10 years, because I was a massive Southgate fan in terms of what he did with England and people saying he underachieved and what he should have done with this team. I think England will find it tough in this tournament, if I'm being totally honest.
"You look at the squad that's been picked, and there's a lot of good players in there, but I class a lot of them as good Premier League players. I don't look at all of them and think, 'That's an international player there,' and maybe that's just here we are with the squad at the moment. So, I wouldn't say I'm the most optimistic right now."