- Gareth Southgate opted to start with Kieran Trippier at right-back on Saturday.
- Jamie Carragher believes Trent Alexander-Arnold should have been selected
- Listen to “It’s All Kicking Off!” EUROS DAILY: Anthony Taylor’s baffling decision not to award Germany a penalty…he would have given it in the Premier League!
Jamie Carragher says he was shocked to see England manager Gareth Southgate select Kieran Trippier to start at right-back for the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland.
England manager Southgate opted to change his team’s formation from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3 ahead of the match in Dusseldorf.
Kyle Walker has started at right-back for England in their first four matches at the tournament but Southgate prefers to use the Manchester City captain at centre-back when playing with a back three.
That meant Southgate was forced to choose between Newcastle captain Trippier, who has played at left-back so far this summer, and Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Carragher, who was capped 38 times by England and played 737 times for Liverpool during his playing career, is adamant that Alexander-Arnold should have been selected.
Reacting to Saturday’s team news on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “Kieran Trippier has done a good job at left-back. Choosing him over Trent Alexander-Arnold makes no sense to me. That’s not what a Liverpool fan like me is like.”
Alexander-Arnold started England’s first two Euros group matches in central midfield, despite right-back being his most regular position at club level.
Carragher agreed with Southgate’s decision to pick Walker over Alexander-Arnold but insisted the 25-year-old was far superior to Trippier.
“For a long time I felt that Kyle Walker was the right choice to play at right-back for England,” Carragher explained, “and I thought Gareth was right to try Trent in midfield because he clearly has world-class ability on the ball. But it didn’t work out and he had to be dropped from the team.”
“But I don’t understand why they would play Trippier instead of Trent. The only reason would be because Kieran has played a few more games and they trust him more. But defensively, the whole point of playing with a back three is to free up the wing-backs. And behind them you’ve got Kyle Walker, who is the quickest player in the team and can deal with anything quickly when he gets caught out defensively.”
“So I can’t believe I wouldn’t put Trent in that position. I can’t believe it, to be honest with you. I can only imagine how he’s feeling in this tournament. But Kieran Trippier is a player Gareth trusts so he will play him. Left-back, right-back, right wing-back, left wing-back, whatever position, he always seems to find his place. But I would have put Trent in that position.”
Asked if he felt sympathy for Alexander-Arnold, Carragher said: “Yes, I do, but look, I played in an era when there were a lot of great centre-backs. I didn’t play much for England and Trent came into his own in an era when there were a lot of great right-backs.”
“Kyle Walker is obviously getting older and I think Trent Alexander-Arnold should be England’s right-back after this tournament, whether it’s a back four or five. He’s a very good player and you have to give him a chance.”
“But Kieran Trippier, like I said, is a good player. He didn’t have a great season at Newcastle. He was decent for England. He did a really solid job at left-back and was as good as he could be. But I just can’t see him playing ahead of Trent.”
“Trent has world-class ability. Kieran Trippier is a very good player who had a tough season at Newcastle, so I certainly sympathise with him on this. A lot of people have said they sympathise with him for being dropped after coming into midfield, but, you know, he was given two chances in midfield and he didn’t perform very well – or the rest of the team either.”
“So I felt like I had to accept that he beat the team. But I think this is really hard for him to accept.”