Yesterday saw England manager Gareth Southgate release his first squad for the year for the upcoming internationals next week ahead of England’s three World Cup Qualifiers ahead of the 2022 competition in Qatar.
The squad overall has been subject to some criticism over the last 24 hours with many feeling that a number of players that should have been included in the squad have instead been left out – with one of the big names, much to everyone’s surprise, coming from Liverpool’s own squad in the form of 22-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Trent was left out of the upcoming internationals against San Marino, Albania, and Poland – all of which will see Trent stay with the Reds and continue training under Jurgen Klopp, as confirmed by England’s Twitter account…
Here it is… your first #ThreeLions squad of the year! 👊
— England (@England) March 18, 2021
I am genuinely perplexed as to why Trent has been left out of the squad given the players that Southgate has chosen in his place. In the mindset of a Liverpool fan it is great news and it means there is no risk to his fitness and we won’t have to be worrying about his return for the remainder of the season, but as an England fan, I have no idea as to why the likes of Keiran Trippier has been selected.
This is no way a slander on Trippier as a player, but Southgate stated that his decision for leaving Trent out was due to him not performing at the same level he has been over the last few seasons which is a fair statement – however, Trippier has played five games since Christmas and is nowhere near the level that Southgate is referring to here, so where is the sense in his decision?
Still, as a Liverpool fan, we can sleep sound with the knowledge that Trent won’t be coming back from international duty with an injury and he will be able to spend more time with the squad ahead of our return to Premier League action against Arsenal at the start of April.
What do you think Liverpool fans, was Southgate wrong to leave out Trent? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below…