Kieran Trippier and Harry Kane. Both team-mates at Tottenham, it makes sense that both are starting team-mates for England, too. With Kane—captain and main goal threat—a certainty for the XI in every match he’s fit for, Trippier is the natural inclusion for the right flank. Add in his greater experience at international level, his bigger number of seasons as a first-choice player on the domestic scene and his greater exposure to the wing-back role he’ll be asked to fill, and he’s even more of a natural pick than surprise call-up, rookie right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.
With one exception: Alexander-Arnold is already a better player.
For Gareth Southgate, the smart option may still be to pick Trippier, at least to start with. More than pure talent has to come into the team selection process, after all. But don't necessarily expect it to stay that way; in fact, Alexander-Arnold stands a particularly good chance as the tournament goes on of making the right wing-back berth his own.
In terms of mentality, the teenager has all the boxes ticked. He plays at a big, ambitious club, understands the demands of consistency and victory and has even, despite his short time as a senior, shown his ability to bounce back from disappointment and criticism. In terms of technical ability pertinent to his position in the team, wing-back arguably suits him best at present. He has the pace and athleticism to work the flank, in both halves, and his defensive awareness and diligence has increased tenfold over the past few months.
He will track those runners, but can be a tremendous outlet, quick to get forward and link with players ahead of him. Add in his set-piece prowess, with both his delivery and confidence on full display in taking them during his England debut, and he’s clearly a weapon to be utilised.
This all comes without discussing perhaps his best attribute on the ball: his crossing.
Fans of Spurs and Trippier will point to the 27-year-old’s own crossing ability at this point, and rightly so—but Trent’s combination play in the final third is superior, his ability to quickly play passes around defenders is better...and he’s proven to be a goal threat, too. Trippier has one goal in three seasons at Spurs and didn’t net in his final campaign with Burnley either; Alexander-Arnold scored three in 33 games this term, and almost added a fourth in the Champions League final.
Training goals don’t count for much, but the video of the Liverpool man banging one in during his first session with the England seniors highlights not only his ability, but his willingness to look for the shooting chance. It’s not as though Southgate’s side will be blessed with a host of natural goalscorers; as the tournament goes on and the margins for error become ever more fine, that too might be a key point in Alexander-Arnold’s favour.
At some stage, even if Southgate goes with experience to begin with, Alexander-Arnold will get his chance. It could be against a stubborn Panama, looking to add pace and drive in the wider areas to break them down. Perhaps it might even come when a goal down against one of the group stage opponents, looking to add fresh legs and a different, perhaps an unexpected, approach.
But it will come. He’s too good not to give an opportunity to, and Southgate himself has already shown multiple times that his decision-making won’t be based merely on familiarity. The fact Alexander-Arnold is even in the squad is testament to that.
And when his chance does come, it would surprise nobody who has watched him this season, especially over the last three months, if he grasped it with both hands and made the position his own.
