Tuchel tells Trent Alexander-Arnold that Quansah is ahead of him for World Cup

Thomas Tuchel says he will consider travelling to Real Madrid to talk to Trent Alexander-Arnold about his England prospects.

Alexander-Arnold has not played for his country since been given 26 minutes as a substitute during the 1-0 win against Andorra in Barcelona last June. That represents the only appearance he has made for Tuchel.

Now, with only two March friendlies standing between now and next summer's World Cup in America, Tuchel has indicated that he will sit down with the 27-year-old right back in Spain.

'First of all, it's my job now to make contact with everyone, players like Trent,' said Tuchel after Sunday's final qualifying win in Albania.

'Players that are on our long list, 55 or 60 players, to reach out to them, be in touch with them, explain to them why they were not here.

'Explain to them what they have to do, where they can improve. Can they even do something or is it just a choice? So this is my job in the next weeks and months.'

While it seems inconceivable that Tuchel will actually talk to that many players, Alexander-Arnold is probably the most high-profile player seemingly stuck on the outside of the England picture.

Asked directly if he would visit the former Liverpool star, Tuchel said: 'Why would I not? We can do group visits. We can do Jude Bellingham and Trent together. And visit the clubs. And some of them we will call.

'But I hate phone calls. It's better on FaceTime. Then I see the expression, at least, and get a feeling for the person.

'Or I need to visit them. Visit training, training grounds. Let's see. Listen, we've just finished this camp and I think it's important that I reach out to everyone, even to the guys we didn't pick so regularly, to tell them where they are and give them honest feedback.'

Chelsea's Reece James is Tuchel's preferred choice at right back but can be injury prone. On Sunday in Tirana, Alexander-Arnold's old Liverpool team-mate Jarell Quansah took the position.

'I have a lot of trust in Jarell,' Tuchel said.

'I see his talent but I see the package. He is tall, he is fast, he is strong in build-up. He is strong in the air.

'I saw him very strong playing for Liverpool in this position so I always wanted to try.

'And he plays every minute for Bayer Leverkusen since the under-21 Euros. So he is at the moment a tiny bit ahead.'

Tuchel will attend the World Cup draw in Washington in early December but admitted to some frustration that he won't see his players for so long now. 'It hurts me, honestly,' he said.

'I told the players that I have to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year now.

'I cannot believe it and, in my heart, everything of me wants to be with the guys on Wednesday again. To be on the sidelines and fight and Saturday again. They sucked me into all of this. This is just amazing. It will be very tough for me to not have a match until March.'

England's record of eight wins and eight clean sheets is the best in European World Cup qualifying. Whether he likes it or not, Tuchel's England will travel across the Atlantic as one of the favourites next summer.

Asked if England's performances had 'intimidated' the rest of the world, he said:' Hopefully. But I think it's more important that we are aware of what we can do, what makes us strong and that everyone has a clear idea of how we want to defend, how we want to attack, how do we want to help each other.

'We just have to accept that not everything can be perfect. Because we have sometimes only one and a half training sessions to prepare matches. And the players have to accept it.

'The level of detail cannot always be right. But the commitment to accept mistakes, the commitment after ball losses … to put the head down, to just run. This has been outstanding through the last camps and I think you can feel it.

'This is what I talked about and I hope that somehow we make it so that you watch this team and you feel like: 'Wow. They really mean it.'

'This camp was all about us. We had the qualification in the pocket so we needed to keep the level just for us because we mean it. It was for the sake of keeping the level up. And we did it again.

'I knew it is a privilege to work with these players because I love their character and their attitude and how they are shaped. We had a little dip in summer but then the way we reacted and built from there in the three camps was just outstanding.

'So full credit to the players for their commitment and it makes me of course very happy and very proud.'