England vs USA: Fans fume at Kieran Trippier starting over Trent Alexander-Arnold

  /  autty

Kieran Trippier's 'painful' first half against the United States saw England fans turn on boss Gareth Southgate for starting him ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

USA were much the better team in the first 45 minutes of their Group B clash on Friday night, with Trippier's right side dominated by Christian Pulisic.

Alexander-Arnold is a starting right back at Liverpool and as he sat and watched on from the bench, fans called into question Southgate's judgement for selecting Trippier ahead of the Merseyside star.

'Trippier absolutely stinks I don't know how he gets to start ahead of Trent,' one fan fumed.

Another added: 'Give me a valid reason why Trippier is playing ahead of Alexander-Arnold? You can't.

'Ridiculous to have someone that good at creating chances on the bench, with a striker like Harry Kane up top.'

A third moaned: 'Watching Trippier's use of the ball when Trent is on the bench really is painful.'

England looked sluggish in the first 45 minutes and lacked the vibrancy that saw them comfortably dispatch Iran 6-2 in their opening game.

Trippier struggled to find the same wavelength with Bukayo Saka, the right winger in Southgate's front three, and it allowed USA to dominate in wide areas.

'England are playing too slow,' Micah Richards said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

'When they've upped the tempo they've got in. It is too laboured and too slow at the moment. They need to quicken and sharpen it up.'

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