Former England international Kyle Walker has expressed his shock after coach Thomas Tuchel left Phil Foden, Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his World Cup squad.
The familiar trio were the biggest casualties of yesterday’s announcement of the 26-man squad for the North American tour, with Walker questioning several key decisions by Tuchel.
Speaking to talkSPORT , the former Manchester City defender began his analysis by focusing on Foden, highlighting his lack of consistency under Pep Guardiola and talking about his ideal position.
“It’s a shock for me because I know what Phil can do day in and day out. I know what he can do on the pitch at any time. But maybe Phil himself would say he didn’t show enough on the pitch for Manchester City or wasn’t given the opportunity,” Walker initially said.
“Only Phil and Pep know the answers. That probably had a domino effect on the decision Thomas made. I think he is best as a number 10. He can play on the wing, that is not a problem for him and he has probably done that throughout his career.”
“I think he was unlucky to wait for a place to become free behind David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne so he could play that role. But for some reason, the manager didn’t use him there. My personal opinion is that Phil Foden is the best in tight areas.”
Walker also defended Maguire, who was left out despite an impressive season at Manchester United.
“If you had told me six months ago that he would be left out, I would probably have said: ‘Okay, fair enough’. But given what he has done this season and where Manchester United have finished, you would expect him to have a good chance of making the list.”
“I think his experience, given that he’s been to all the tournaments I’ve been to, has been a key part of the team. So I think he’s very unlucky that he didn’t make it. He’s fantastic and you can see that in the way he plays for England, he’s always at the right level, even when he’s taking penalties. I think that has to be taken into account.”
“And for a centre-back to take the responsibility of taking penalties in every major competition we’ve been involved in says a lot about him. It shows how much it means to him to play for England. That’s why yesterday’s call-up was a bitter pill to swallow. But that’s football, he has to deal with it, recover and move on.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s absence has come as a surprise, especially given the defender plays for Real Madrid despite having an injury-plagued season in Spain. Walker called for unity behind Tuchel’s regime but admitted he was not clear about the sporting logic behind the decision.
“To say that a player who plays for Real Madrid can’t get into the England national team is almost unheard of. But for some reason, the manager has decided to follow the path he has followed. And listen, he’s taking us to the World Cup and we have to support him. I think the more we support the boys, the better it will be.”
“There will always be doubts and question marks around any decision the coach makes. But I think if we support him in the best way possible, especially when I think about Russia and how many nations supported us then, that will only help.”
“Do I understand the logic? No, I don’t really. Because we all talk about what Trent does or doesn’t do well. But let’s talk about what Trent does extremely well and is probably the best in the world at right-back – his passing range, his distribution of the ball, his assists.”
“Also, you have to take into account the big games he has played in, whether it’s Champions League finals or big games for Liverpool or Real Madrid. That has to be taken into account because, no matter how good a player someone is, when you’re put in a quarter-final or semi-final of the World Cup, or a final of the European Championship, you need the personality to make sure you can handle that kind of game, not just in terms of the quality of the game, but also mentally,” the English defender concluded.
