Why Injured Jude Bellingham Got England Call But In-Form Trent Alexander-Arnold Didn’t

Thomas Tuchel had some explaining to do regarding the Real Madrid pair.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (left) was snubbed by Thomas Tuchel while Jude Bellingham got his call-up. | Eddie Keogh-The FA/The FA/Getty Images

For the first time in two decades, Real Madrid have two Englishmen in their first-team squad. One started both legs of a convincing 5–1 aggregate Champions League victory over Manchester City while the other watched the action unfold exclusively from the stands after seven weeks on the sidelines.

So naturally, England manager Thomas Tuchel picked the injured Jude Bellingham and snubbed Trent Alexander-Arnold yet again.

Tuchel explained that it was a “sporting decision” to overlook Real Madrid’s right back, who has struck upon some of his best form since moving to the Spanish capital over the summer, bluntly listing the three players more suited to his system.

Bellingham’s inclusion was even more surprising given the last notable dispatch about the all-action midfielder revolved around a troubling setback in his recovery from the first serious muscle injury of his budding career. Tuchel also had an answer for that.

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Thomas Tuchel Reveals Special Plan for Jude Bellingham

England manager Thomas Tuchel (right) has not always started Jude Bellingham. | PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Bellingham was reduced to tears after going down clutching the back of his left leg during a 2–1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Feb. 1. The hamstring issue was initially expected to keep the 22-year-old sidelined for a month but a subsequent setback doubled that recovery time. Despite his inclusion in Tuchel’s squad, Bellingham is still expected to sit out Real’s local derby with Atlético Madrid on Sunday.

However, Tuchel was at pains to stress that Bellingham’s inclusion was no example of an angry club vs. country spat. “Everyone had the same interest, which is not always the case,” he explained.

“I wanted Jude to be in camp, Jude wanted to be in camp and Real Madrid is happy for him to come to camp because we can provide, basically, team training for him, which is a bit difficult because Real Madrid is just like on the international break.”

Bellingham had been pencilled in for a return at club level in April and England will be able to offer a higher caliber of sparring partners than the academy kids left kicking around Madrid’s training ground while the first team scatter to all four corners of the globe on international duty. Whether Bellingham will actually get any minutes against Uruguay or Japan is another matter entirely.

“We will continue his progress in integration into team training,” Tuchel outlined. “We will be very careful and not take any risk with Jude regarding a risk of re-injury. It’s a very rare injury for him to have a muscle injury, so he’s not experienced in it, so we will be very, very careful with it and not take any risk.

“The best case scenario is that he gets some minutes against Japan. That is the framework and then we will adapt from day to day.”

The special dispensation dolled out by Tuchel came with a warning. Bellingham is vying for the No. 10 spot in England’s 4-2-3-1 with a glut of immensely talented individuals. The likes of Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze were also named in Tuchel’s 35-player roster for March’s friendlies. But they won’t all be going to the World Cup.

“We need clarity around every position. It is unlikely that we bring three, four or five players for one position,” Tuchel warned. “That will confuse everyone. The choice between world-class players in the No. 10 means at some point we will have to make a tough call. The competition is on [in March], but we will share it.”

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Why Trent Alexander-Arnold Was Snubbed by Thomas Tuchel—Again

Trent Alexander-Arnold has had some spells in and out of the team for Real Madrid. | Maciej Rogowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Alexander-Arnold’s England career has been oddly staccato. The youngest member of Gareth Southgate’s 2018 World Cup squad was injured for Euro 2020 and played second fiddle to Kyle Walker in Qatar.

It can be easily forgotten but the natural right back started England’s first two games of Euro 2024 in midfield together with Bellingham and Declan Rice. Neither performance inspired much fluency and he was dropped before the knockout stages had even begun.

Tuchel called Alexander-Arnold up at the first available opportunity in the summer of 2025 but didn’t see the best of the former Liverpool player who had been worn down by a title-winning campaign and was preparing to join up with Real Madrid at the Club World Cup. He’s not been selected since.

The explanation for his omission back in September was suitably vague. Tuchel insisted he was a “big fan of Trent” yet felt that Chelsea captain Reece James and Newcastle United’s young tyro Tino Livramento were more suited “for competition.” First-choice option James is injured yet Tuchel damningly admitted that the right backs he has chosen have the right “profiles” which Alexander-Arnold lacks.

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The England Right Backs Selected Ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold

• Djed Spence—Versatile Tottenham Hotspur fullback who can operate on either flank. Boasts three England caps but is yet to create an assist for Spurs across 37 appearances this season.
• Tino Livramento—Jet-heeled sprinter for Newcastle United who was playing for England’s U21s over the summer.
• Jarell Quansah—Alexander-Arnold’s former Liverpool teammate has not played at right back since leaving Merseyside for Bayer Leverkusen in 2025. Does have ample experience as the right-sided center back in a back three.

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“I know that it’s a tough decision for Trent,” Tuchel sighed. “These tough decisions come with the job. It’s a sporting decision that we stick with Jarell Quansah, Tino Livramento and Djed Spence who can play for us at right back.”

Quansah can play at right back—which he did as an understudy for Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool, incidentally—but has operated exclusively at center back for Bayer Leverkusen this season. Livramento and Spence are natural options for the fullback position and both boast a style of play more focused on their physical attributes rather than the subtlety of Alexander-Arnold’s deep-lying playmaking.

“I know it’s a tough one, I know it’s a big name. He’s a huge talent with a big career,” Tuchel concluded. “The evidence is we were good in September-November [rather] than anything [against] Trent.

“I played many times against him and suffered many times when he played against my teams. I know very well his strengths and what he can give.”

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