Photo by Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images
Liverpool supporters are unlikely to be too invested in watching England during the international break, with many fans not identifying closely with the national team.
The Reds did not have a single player representing them in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat against Spain, after Rio Ngumoha was left out of the matchday squad by Thomas Tuchel.
Nevertheless, there is always intrigue surrounding the former Liverpool players in the camp. Jarell Quansah has become an important player for Tuchel since leaving the Reds in 2025, while September has seen a recall for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been somewhat frozen out since the German took charge.
Though he was named in Tuchel’s squad, Alexander-Arnold did not get on the pitch against Spain and, in a bizarre state of play, saw Quansah start ahead of him at right-back. The England manager was asked to provide his reasoning for this at full-time, and it just will not make sense to Liverpool fans, or anyone else really.
Quansah is simply ahead of Alexander-Arnold for England
When they were both at Liverpool, neither Jurgen Klopp nor Arne Slot would have dreamed of picking Quansah at right-back over Alexander-Arnold. The younger man did play there on occasion, but only if his older teammate was unavailable or rested.
But it is funny how football works, and, according to Tuchel, Quansah is ‘just ahead’ in his right-back stakes at the moment, after doing well with England at the World Cup. Speaking in his post-match press conference on Saturday, the former Chelsea boss also said that he needed Quansah’s ability to tuck in and play as a centre-back.
“There was a lot of defending to do on the side, we had a lot of one-on-one defending in the middle line, so, we needed to close the gaps,” Tuchel said.
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“Marc Guehi followed in the midfield so we ended up in a back three. We needed first of all Jarell’s speed and Jarell’s quality to think as a central defender. Jarell did excellent in the week, he was excellent for us in the World Cup so for us at the moment he is slightly ahead and he didn’t give his shirt away.
“It’s not his shirt, he has to fight for it but he came with a slight advantage into this camp because he was top for us at the World Cup and he was top for us this week and he had an excellent match today.”
Though Tuchel did not mention Alexander-Arnold by name in his answer, the reporter who asked the question did, and given his grand total of zero minutes on the pitch on Saturday, it is clear what the 53-year-old thinks of the two former Liverpool players.
In theory, his reasoning about Quansah needing to move more centrally makes some sense, but Liverpool fans will still be left questioning if they have entered some alternate reality where the 23-year-old is considered a better option than a right-back who, at his best, was comfortably one of the best in world football.
Whenever Quansah did play at full-back for the Reds he looked awkward and uncomfortable and, despite Tuchel’s assertions, he largely gave off the same impression while playing at the World Cup. The manager can say what he likes, but most England fans will remember Quansah purely for his red card against Mexico at a crucial stage of the last-16 match. He did not play in the tournament again.
It is obviously nice to see him getting some praise and doing well in his post-Liverpool career, but while fans may also relish in Alexander-Arnold’s misery, it is just baffling the way things have played out. The Reds need a right-back currently, and if these two were offered to come back and play there once again, there is no question who fans would pick. Tuchel seems to feel differently, and it could not be more of a surprise.