England coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged it was “maybe unfair” that Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to be overlooked for a recall to the squad ahead of the World Cup.
Despite Kyle Walker retiring from international soccer and Reece James being injured, Alexander-Arnold — a star player at Real Madrid — still cannot get back in favor with Tuchel as one of his right-back options.
The German-born coach preferred Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, Tottenham’s Djed Spence and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah — typically a center back — in his original squad. When Quansah pulled out with an injury, Tuchel opted to call up Ben White, who has barely played for Arsenal this season, instead of Alexander-Arnold.
Asked Thursday why this was the case, Tuchel said it was “just a choice.”
“It’s a sporting choice and a difficult choice, and maybe a hard choice, and maybe to a certain degree, maybe unfair, but these choices have to be made,” Tuchel said.
“I know,” he added, “that it creates noise when you leave a player like Trent out, and, yes, we had a call. I tried to explain the situation, but he just has to accept it.”
White previously made himself unavailable to England after walking out on the squad midway through the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He has never publicly explained why.
Former England coach Gareth Southgate wanted the 28-year-old White before the 2024 European Championship but was unable to persuade him.
White’s answer was very different when Tuchel called.
“Once I asked Ben if he would be ready to play for me and for England, he straight away, without hesitation, said he would love that, and he would love to come back,” Tuchel said. “And he is desperate to come back.
“The reaction came within seconds, and was very authentic, and very, very positive. He was very emotional about it, that showed me that he really means it.”
Tuchel said White has needed to “clear the air” with his England teammates this week.
“He has my support,” Tuchel said. “Hopefully, he gets the support from the spectators.”
England plays Uruguay in a friendly on Friday, before facing Japan on Tuesday — both at Wembley Stadium.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
