Gary Neville acknowledged that England were “very, very lucky” to beat Slovakia at the Euros, with Gareth Southgate omitting Trent Alexander-Arnold “illegal.”
Alexander-Arnold was not involved at all for the first time at the Euros as England somehow scraped a 2-1 victory over Slovakia in extra time.
The result booked their place in the last eight of the tournament, but the Three Lions have been far from one of the best sides involved, struggling throughout.
Having been cut after an “experiment” in Southgate’s midfield, Alexander-Arnold was overlooked over two hours in Gelsenkirchen despite full-backs Kieran Trippier and in particular Kyle Walker both floundered.
With England a goal down at half-time and by far the worst of the two teams, Neville launched a scathing criticism of the manager’s selection, saying he had to “rip up the script.”
“Trent Alexander-Arnold, it is illegal that lad is not playing football in a game like this for England,” he argued on ITV.
“We can’t have Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier at left and right-back when we’re on the ball most of the time.
“That kid is the best football player we’ve ever seen at full-back in this country. He has got to be on the pitch.”
England eventually won the tie after Jude Bellingham’s last-minute bicycle kick equalised to set up extra time, with Harry Kane heading in the winner minutes after the restart.
But despite setting up a quarter-final clash with Switzerland on Saturday, Southgate’s side did so while clinging on, and are far from favourites.
“Relief is the word of the day,” Neville said after the game.
“We’ve been very, very lucky and we should thank our lucky stars because we were woeful and we’ve been woeful now for four games.
“Not even in extra time did we play well and Slovakia were unlucky at the end.
“We’ve got to change something dramatically and Gareth will realise tonight that he was so close to the edge.”
Alongside Neville in the studio, Ian Wright summed up the tournament’s narrative for England, with Southgate’s selection leading to a focus on individual players rather than the team itself.
That has certainly happened with Alexander-Arnold, who became a scapegoat after starting both of the first two games in an unfamiliar midfield role.
“It feels like it is moments, what we do need is some structure,” Wright insisted.
“What, are we going to bring in another individual? Say ‘oh, it’s his turn now’? At some stage we’re going to have to find a way to beat teams by playing through teams.”
Joe Gomez was left out again, spending the night as an unused substitute, but with Marc Guehi now suspended for the next game he could be given an opportunity at centre-back.
It seems unlikely, though, with Southgate preferring Ezri Konsa as a late replacement at left-back, despite rarely – if ever – having played the position.
Next up at the Euros, Ibrahima Konate‘s France take on Belgium in Monday’s 5pm kickoff, while Diogo Jota and Portugal face Slovenia at 8pm.