Micah Richards is ‘delighted’ Gareth Southgate named Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold in England’s World Cup squad. He also feels the right-back’s talents are underappreciated.
Alexander-Arnold faced the prospect of missing out on a spot in the Three Lions’ 26-man squad for Qatar 2022. He has struggled for form at times for the Reds this season with an array of defensively poor showings. But Reece James’ knee injury left the door wide open.
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The 24-year-old could even start England’s opening Group B tie against Iran come Monday. Kyle Walker is in the last stages of his recovery from groin surgery but has accepted he will not be fit to take on Team Melli. The Manchester City star should be ready to face the USA.
Southgate has only afforded Alexander-Arnold 17 caps for England since the Liverpool star made his debut just 11 days before the 2018 World Cup. The Liverpool native has also only started 14 of an available 36 games. He has further only featured in five games since 2020.
Austria, Andorra, Albania, San Marino and Hungary are also the countries that Alexander-Arnold has faced since 2020. In the same period, Southgate also left the one-time Premier League and Champions League winner on their bench against Poland, Germany and Italy.
‘Breathtaking’ Liverpool star ‘improves’ England’s World Cup side for Richards
Failing to impress defensively for Liverpool this season could have cost Alexander-Arnold a place in England’s World Cup squad, too. A number of forwards including Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard of Brighton & Hove Albion have run him ragged this term.
Alexander-Arnold has shown a worrying lack of awareness on numerous occasions and has made a host of poor decisions. But the Reds product is still able to cause issues through his crossing and sublime long-range passing. Yet he has no assists after 20 games this season.
The incredible diagonal pass Alexander-Arnold played at Tottenham Hotspur on November 6 stands out for Richards. He stunned the home support by hitting a first-time ball into the path of Darwin Nunez on the left. Yet he was often caught at sixes and sevens at the back.
“I hear people say ‘he can’t do this’ or ‘he can’t defend’. It’s strange,” Richards wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “I never hear anyone really praise him for what he can do – and what he can do is breathtaking.
“He played a pass at Tottenham this month that was as good as I’ve ever seen. I’ve never lost faith in him. I’m delighted he’s in the squad because he improves it.”
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