Will 'super defender' Trent Alexander-Arnold be the trump card of the England team?

At the age of 25, Alexander-Arnold has participated in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. At EURO 2020, he was absent due to injury. However, the Liverpool star is only a "supporting actor" when England coach Gareth Southgate puts his trust in Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier, right-backs with more impressive defensive abilities.

Alexander-Arnold is expected to be a mainstay of the England team.

REUTERS

But in Germany, Alexander-Arnold is expected to start for England. It is worth mentioning that he takes on the role of central midfielder instead of right-back. At EURO 2024, he also chose the number 8 shirt, the number that once belonged to Frank Lampard and Jordan Henderson.

In Southgate’s 4-3-3 formation, there are two solid starters in midfield: Bellingham (left) and Rice (center). The right-sided central midfield position will be contested between Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton.

In this group, Alexander-Arnold has the highest chance of starting. Mainoo and Wharton are too young (born in 2005 and 2004 respectively), Gallagher plays as a box-to-box midfielder, a style of play quite similar to Bellingham. Meanwhile, the Premier League's top right-back has a very special value to help England go far. That is passing.

In the group stage of EURO 2024, England may have to face difficulties because the opponent is likely to "pour concrete". For example, in the recent 0-1 loss to Iceland, the "Three Lions" were extremely deadlocked and only had one shot on target. They mainly waited for breakthrough situations and then passed the ball from Phil Foden, Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon but this plan was not effective.

At this time, coach Southgate needs creative passes, capable of tearing apart the opponent's defense, like what Alexander-Arnold showed in the friendly matches before EURO 2024. According to Sky Sports, on the day he was assigned to play as a central midfielder, the Liverpool player was the best passer and crosser of the England team. When needed, he can climb the sidelines, cross, cross to surprise, or even finish, and the super volley against Bosnia and Herzegovina is a typical example. In addition to that goal, he also created 5 other opportunities for his teammates and made 102 passes with an accuracy of nearly 90%. Of which, the number of passes into the penalty area was 12, a very high number.

At Liverpool, coach Jurgen Klopp also used Alexander-Arnold as an inverted wingback. That means he is still placed at right-back, but when Liverpool organizes an attack, he will move into the center to help the central midfielders develop the ball. The performance of this Scouser is also very impressive thanks to his diverse passing ability: through balls, long passes along the field and diagonally, crosses and crosses.

At EURO 2024, England is the most highly valued team with a total value of up to 650 million euros. They own a series of stars such as Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Phil Foden or Harry Kane. But it is very possible that the person who makes the difference for the "Three Lions" is a defender: Alexander-Arnold. When freed from defensive duties and with the ball at his feet, the Liverpool star is always extremely dangerous.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/euro-2024-sieu-hau-ve-trent-alexander-arnold-se-la-at-chu-bai-cua-doi-tuyen-anh-185240616114257437.htm