Former England striker Gary Lineker has expressed his surprise and disapproval of England manager Thomas Tuchel's decision to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the squad for the pre-World Cup friendlies. Lineker considers this decision 'really insulting' and suggests there might be a personal issue between Tuchel and Alexander-Arnold. Tuchel named an expanded 35-man squad for the March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, emphasizing that this was the 'last chance' for players to secure their place on the team.

Tuchel's decision to call up Ben White, who has not played for England since leaving the 'Three Lions' camp during the 2022 World Cup for personal reasons, has been particularly criticized by Lineker.
Lineker, on 'The Rest is Football' podcast, argued that Alexander-Arnold's exclusion makes no sense from a football perspective, highlighting the quality of the Real Madrid player. Lineker believes there must be something personal, as there is no argument football-wise. Real Madrid star Trent Alexander-Arnold has been impressing after a shaky start to his Bernabeu career. Lineker questions how Alexander-Arnold cannot be in the squad, as, in his opinion, he improves the team's chances, even from the bench.

Furthermore, Lineker mentioned that White, who plays for Arsenal, has not been outstanding this season, with only seven Premier League appearances.
The situation of Ben White, who has been called up despite not wanting to play for England before, was also criticized by Lineker. Lineker said: 'I can't see how he can still be ahead of Trent, I think that's really insulting to a seriously top full-back.' During the match against Uruguay, White scored his first goal for England, in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw. After the match, a significant section of England fans booed White, and former captain Jordan Henderson vowed to 'support' the Arsenal defender.

Henderson stated: 'As team-mates we are always there to support'.
Henderson added: 'Some of the fans probably don't even know why they are booing, they listen to what is being said in the media, and a lot of the time what the media says isn't true.' Tuchel's team is hoping for a better result and performance on Tuesday when they face Japan. Lineker concluded that Tuchel needs someone with a bit of magic to unlock things, and Alexander-Arnold provides that.