New Trent Alexander-Arnold theory emerges after second England World Cup snub - "The only reason"

Trent Alexander-Arnold might have been left out of Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup 2026 squad due to concerns over his character, a former Three Lions right-back has exclusively told Sports Mole.

Real Madrid man Alexander-Arnold is watching the Mundial from home, having not been selected for Tuchel's original 26-man England squad or when Tino Livramento withdrew injured.

Rather than replacing the latter with an out-and-out right-back, Tuchel called up Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah, who can function out wide but is primarily used in the heart of defence.

Alexander-Arnold's most recent England call-up came in June 2025, shortly before his first full season with Real Madrid, in which he assisted five goals in 30 games across all tournaments during an underwhelming inaugural campaign.

Former England and Manchester City right-back Danny Mills believes that Alexander-Arnold's technical quality was not the reason for his snub, but rather the ex-Liverpool man may not have been satisfied only being a sporadic starter.

Trent Alexander-Arnold "character" questioned after England snub

"You can't question Trent’s ability," Mills told Sports Mole. "We've seen it time and time again, his ability on the ball is absolutely outstanding. We know he has one or two defensive frailties which are often countered by, his ability going forward.

"Across a season in club football, that's absolutely fine and it's not a problem. I think Thomas Tuchel has looked at this England team and said to himself: ‘What do I need?’

"Tuchel is also not the first manager to leave Trent out. This has happened on a few occasions; at Real Madrid, for England under Gareth Southgate and now Tuchel – they can’t all be wrong. The only reason I can think of as to why he's been left out of the squad is because of his character.

"I don't know him personally, but is he going to be happy about being a squad player? Is he going to be delighted and do everything he possibly can when he knows he's not going to play or be involved?

"Does Tuchel trust him to be that squad player, when realistically he might only get 10-15 minutes in a tournament? Perhaps not. That's the only reason I can think why he would be left out of the squad."

Is Trent Alexander-Arnold's England career over?

Since Tuchel became England head coach, Alexander-Arnold has only played 26 minutes for his country, in a late substitute appearance against Andorra in June 2025.

Untimely muscular and ankle injuries prevented Alexander-Arnold from making a play for future England squads, and in his absence, Tuchel's men kept clean sheets for fun.

The Three Lions did not concede a single goal in their World Cup 2026 Qualifying group, while Alexander-Arnold made just 14 La Liga starts for Real Madrid in 2025-26, which was a poor campaign on an individual and collective level.

When Reece James is fit, the Chelsea man is Tuchel's first pick, but Livramento's repeated injury woes are becoming a concern

Therefore, Alexander-Arnold can certainly play his way back into the England squad by regaining rhythm at Real Madrid, but barring a disastrous injury for James, he might have to forget about becoming his country's first-choice right-back.

Danny Mills was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of betTOM.