Pardew: Tuchel should have called Alexander-Arnold; England only has a cohesive midfield

Former Newcastle United and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew believes that Trent Alexander-Arnold should have been included in England's FIFA World Cup squad and that Tuchel's decision to exclude him has backfired significantly.

Speaking on "World Cup GameDay Live," Pardew stated that Alexander-Arnold should not have been left out at all.

"If you ask 20 managers in professional football, I think 19 of them would take Trent Alexander-Arnold. I really do. I can't see a reason not to take him."

"I think the Panama game was a bit trickier, and I can understand why Tuchel didn't take him, but if it were me, I would have taken him, and I think recent games have completely proven that."

"I don't think we look like a truly cohesive team; we look like we're fumbling in the dark, searching for clues and connections with each other. When I look at the top teams, I can see those connections and cohesion."

Pardew believes England's biggest problem is at right-back.

"We definitely have issues, and the right-back position is particularly problematic, but when you examine the relationships within a team—the connections that define a good side—you start to see the cracks in ours."

"I think we will either barely scrape through on penalties, which is possible, or we will be completely dominated by our opponent, which I also believe is possible."

"I'll tell you why: I don't think the relationship between Pickford and the two centre-backs is strong; we need to address that first."

"Last night, when Guehi, Ngoyo, and Pickford were playing out from the back, there were a lot of gestures and very little certainty among them."

"O'Reilly is playing at left-back, and in my opinion, he should start the next game; he's doing quite well, but he drifts in from the flank into midfield, so we haven't established a connection between him and the left-sided players yet."

"We don't even know who's on the left wing—most likely Rashford, but it could be Gordon—so there's absolutely no chemistry on the left."

"On the right, we might have Spence at right-back, who has only played five games for Tottenham, and now we expect him to suddenly build chemistry with Saka. How many times has he played with Saka?"

"In my opinion, the only area where we look like a team is midfield. Anderson, Rice, and Bellingham all look sharp."

"I quite like this balance, and I don't think it will change; I believe they will start in the knockout rounds."

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