Chris Waddle has urged Gareth Southgate to alter his tactics if England want to see the best of Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent started both of England'sGroup C encounters against Serbia and Denmark but has failed to replicate his Liverpool form
In Thursday's 1-1 draw with Denmark, the 25-year-old was withdrawn just before the hour mark as England searched for a winning goal.
As a result, there have been calls for Alexander-Arnold to be replaced in the starting XI by Kobbie Mainoo or Adam Wharton
Waddle, who was part of the England side that reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, has called on Southgate to tweak his tactics to get the best out of Liverpool's vice-captain.
Waddle said:
"Trent Alexander-Arnold is playing as part of a midfield two, and I don’t understand why Gareth Southgate has made that decision.
“Trent has tremendous passing range, and playing for Liverpool, we’ve seen him hit those lovely balls from right back or when he’s stepped into the midfield.
The difference is he has willing runners that stretch the play. Mo Salah, Darwin and Diaz, they will run all day for him.
“At England, there are no runners, so his greatest strength – his passing range – in that midfield role is completely wasted.
"He’s playing it simple because he has to – all these England players in front of him, except for Saka sometimes, want the ball to feet.
"Trent’s a wonderful player, but his best attribute is being wasted in this midfield role for England. If we’re going to play Trent in midfield, then Southgate needs to get more runners into his team.
"We need a player with the mindset to think ‘when Trent’s on the ball, I'm going to run behind my full back because he’ll find me.'"
In response to Southgate’s comments at the end of the match
Waddle added:
“Gareth will probably regret those because managers normally protect players, and the comments inferred that Trent isn’t as useful as Kalvin Phillips in central midfield.
"It’s an odd comment because they are two totally different players. Trent is not being picked to replicate what Phillips did, he must be getting picked for his ability on the ball, but to get the best out of him, he needs options.
"Trent’s not being used in the right way. It’s not fair for Trent to be made into a scapegoat – the overall team performance wasn’t good enough.
“If you’re looking at individuals, there were several players that were worse than Trent Alexander-Arnold in both of England’s games so far and he’s been the guy that’s been hooked first.
"Except for Marc Guehi, who is doing well considering his lack of experience, everyone has been below average.
“All our players are playing below par, so Southgate should have criticised the group, not an individual."
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