Cafu makes incredible Roberto Carlos comparison to question why Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn't start for England
Legendary Brazil right-back Cafu was unable to understand why Trent Alexander-Arnold is not starting for England. He claimed that like Alexander-Arnold, he and his compatriot Roberto Carlos were also accused of not being defensive enough, but they went on to have successful careers.
Alexander-Arnold hasn't started in either of the two games for the Three Lions during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Kieran Trippier has been preferred by Gareth Southgate so far against Iran and the USA.
Many often opine that the Liverpool defender is not defensively sound enough. However, Cafu said that the same thing was said about him and left-back Carlos. The duo won many trophies during their careers, including the 2002 FIFA World Cup with the Selecao.
Cafu pointed that fact out as he said (via Football Italia):
“I don’t understand why. He has everything: quality, dribbling, pace, but it’s always the same story, they say you are not defensive enough and you remain out. Somebody used to say the same about Roberto Carlos and me, but I think we won something.
"Unfortunately, full-backs are too robotic these days, they get the ball, pass it, and run, I don’t see movements without the ball and no one-two passes.”
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Alexander-Arnold has been absolutely phenomenal for Liverpool since joining the club back in 2016. He has made 246 appearances for the club across competitions, scoring 15 goals and providing 62 assists. He has won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other honors with the Reds.
For England, he has made only 17 appearances since his debut in 2018.
Gary Neville was not happy with Trent Alexander-Arnold's absence during England vs. USA
England lacked creative firepower as they were held to a goalless draw against the USA in their second game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Former England full-back Gary Neville was not happy with Alexander-Arnold's absence from the lineup as he said on ITV (via Empire of the Kop):
“We’ve got a couple of talents there sat on the bench in Trent Alexander-Arnold and [Phil] Foden who, to be fair, in terms of opening up a game – Trent Alexander-Arnold’s got some of the best delivery you’ll ever see from a full-back… for those two to not come off the bench was a little bit disappointing to be fair”.
Despite being a full-back, Alexander-Arnold is one of the most creative players in the world. Whether Gareth Southgate will use the player moving forward remains to be seen.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold will hope to feature in the Three Lions' last Group B clash against Wales on November 29.