Real Madrid star right back Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to make headlines around the England national team, and whlie the Three Lions were able to advance to the Round of 16 behind two heroic goals from their greatest all time striker - and maybe overall player - in Harry Kane, none of that was thanks to the overall team play or the work of manager Thomas Tuchel.
Although Tuchel is one of the biggest names in football coaching and a former Champions League winner with Chelsea, he has underperformed at quite a few high profile jobs in his career, including at PSG and Bayern Munich, and England fans have to be concerned with how poorly the team played against DR Congo in the Round of 32. Without Kane, they would have 100 percent lost.
And a decision that continues to haunt Tuchel and England fans is leaving Alexander-Arnold off the squad. Reece James's injury has further exposed the lack of depth and quality at right back, and while Djed Spence cannot solely be blamed for the goal DR Congo scored to open things up, he played pretty poorly overall.
Tuchel's Trent decision still makes no sense
There is no question that there is a massive gap in quality between Trent, the starting right back for Real Madrid and one of their key players, and Spence, who is a backup for a Tottenham Hotspur squad that finished 17th in the Premier League and nearly got relegated - no thanks to Spence either.
Thomas Tuchel is on the hot seat. England were able to squeak by DR Congo, but they have not looked convincing in this tournament. They drew Ghana 0-0, had to get bailed out by Jude Bellingham against Panama, and would have also not scored a goal without Harry Kane against DR Congo either.
There are elements of luck and not everything about Tuchel is problematic, but his ego and the decisions he makes as a manager often hurt the team chemistry and even the strength of the squad overall. These were big reasons why powerhouse clubs PSG and Bayern Munich did not continue with him, and England are beginning to see these issues, too.
The Trent Alexander-Arnold snub is the kind of decision that can eliminate a team from a tournament, and while England were abel to survive DR Congo, that may not be the case against Mexico or even tougher opponents when the knockouts truly heat up in the quarterfinals onwards.
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