At 25, Alexander-Arnold has already featured at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. He was absent from EURO 2020 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 noting that he will play as a central midfielder instead of a right-back. At EURO 2024, he will also choose 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 (centre). The right central midfield position will be contested between Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton.
In this group, Alexander-Arnold is the most likely to start. 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 EURO 2024 group stage, 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 cause 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 was still assigned to play at right-back, but when Liverpool organized an attack, he would move into the middle to help the central midfielders develop the ball. The Scouser's performance was also impressive thanks to his diverse passing ability: through balls, long passes along the field and across the field, crosses and crosses.
At EURO 2024, England is the most valuable 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-super-hau-ve-trent-alexander-arnold-se-la-at-chu-bai-cua-doi-tuyen-anh-185240616114257437.htm
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