Trent Alexander-Arnold has been recalled to Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures, but the manager made clear this isn't a free pass back into the team. Asked what the Real Madrid full-back needs to do now he's returned, Tuchel didn't hesitate: "Perform. Perform."
He went further, explaining the thinking behind leaving Alexander-Arnold out of last summer's World Cup squad and what's required to stay involved now. "He was not with us in the World Cup. We trusted other players, and I still stick with that decision. It is now time to fight for his place. He always said he is up for a fight, so it's on him to prove." As Tuchel summed it up, "There are steps to take. The first is to be nominated (selected). The second is to perform."
From Liverpool Prodigy to Real Madrid Question Mark
For much of his career, performing was the easy part. Alexander-Arnold became a first-team regular at Liverpool at 18, a European champion at 20 and a Premier League champion at 21. Jurgen Klopp called him "incredible", a player that "people will talk about in 20, 30, 40 years", and Pep Guardiola admired him from afar at Manchester City.
Speaking to Sky Sports in October 2024, Alexander-Arnold set out his ambitions in typically bold terms: "A legend of football, someone who changed the game. That's the main thing that I have: 'Don't play the game. Change the game'. I want that legacy of being the greatest right-back to have played football."
Since joining Real Madrid as Dani Carvajal's successor, though, his first season was disrupted by injuries and a team performance that fell short of expectations.
Mourinho's Preference for Dumfries
Jose Mourinho, appointed as Madrid's new coach, used his first meeting with the club hierarchy last May to outline his wish for a new right-back -- someone to compete with, not just replace, Alexander-Arnold. That competitor arrived in the shape of Denzel Dumfries, signed from Inter.
The new season brought a rare high point when Alexander-Arnold set up a goal for Kylian Mbappe with a pinpoint first-time pass in a 4-0 win over Malaga. But Dumfries has since been preferred at right-back for five of Madrid's first seven games in all competitions. Alexander-Arnold has started twice at right-back, plus one Champions League appearance against Inter in midfield -- an experiment that seems unlikely to be repeated given Mourinho's post-match comments and the fact Alexander-Arnold was whistled by Madrid's own supporters during that game.
There have been uncomfortable moments too, including a wayward crossfield pass as a substitute away to Espanyol last month that drew a disgusted look from Mourinho, who has previously suggested Alexander-Arnold is "not a midfielder".
England's Right-Back Puzzle
The pattern of scepticism from coaches isn't new. Gareth Southgate gave Alexander-Arnold his England debut at 19 but selected him only sporadically over the following six years, generally preferring Kyle Walker, with Kieran Trippier and Reece James also used at times.
Tuchel's squad selections over the past year leaned the same way, favouring James, Ben White, Tino Livramento and Djed Spence, with Alexander-Arnold's last involvement before this recall a 26-minute substitute appearance against Andorra in June last year. Tuchel insists that wasn't a deliberate freeze-out -- "never off the list, never non-selectable for us," he said -- but even an excellent Champions League display against Manchester City wasn't enough to earn him a place in the expanded 35-man squad for World Cup warm-up games against Uruguay and Japan in March.
Right-back proved a genuine problem for England at the World Cup itself. James missed three games with a hamstring injury, Jarell Quansah was sent off playing out of position against Mexico, and Spence, Ezri Konsa and even Declan Rice, deployed there in an emergency against the Democratic Republic of Congo, were all used at various points.
The Challenge Ahead
Alexander-Arnold's recall now comes with James, Spence and White all sidelined through injury -- players Tuchel referenced directly in his news conference. Pressed on whether Alexander-Arnold offers enough defensively to fit his plans, Tuchel replied, "He has to. He has to. It's necessary. My conviction is that he will. But he has no choice."
Whether Mourinho picks him to start Sunday's derby against Atletico Madrid remains to be seen. Either way, England's Nations League match against world champions Spain next Saturday will put his defensive qualities under scrutiny against opponents including Atletico Madrid's Alex Baena, Athletic Club's Nico Williams and others named in Spain's squad.
Mbappe, in an interview published by Spanish newspaper AS, reflected on what a move to Madrid is supposed to represent: "When you become a Real Madrid player, you reach another level, a higher level. I believe that, to become part of soccer history, you have to play for Real Madrid." Since Mbappe's own arrival in 2024, though, Paris Saint-Germain have won the last two Champions League titles and Barcelona have taken the last two La Liga crowns -- a reminder that Madrid hasn't guaranteed anyone an easy path to glory. For Alexander-Arnold, the England recall is welcome, but it arrives as a challenge to be earned rather than a reward already won.
