Jeff Stelling has questioned Thomas Tuchel’s decision to call up Trevoh Chalobah as an emergency defender.
The England boss is at the centre of a huge post-mortem following Wednesday’s brutal World Cup exit to Argentina.
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The Three Lions had one foot in Sunday’s final with just five minutes to play only to concede twice thanks to goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.
England’s bizarre decision to retreat into an ultra-defensive mindset after opening the scoring through Anthony Gordon has since drawn huge criticism.
At the time of Argentina’s winner, Tuchel had opted for six defenders out of his 11 on the pitch.
The England boss later explained that he had ‘no regrets’ over his tactical decisions before claiming his side’s inability to finish off Argentina is woven in the DNA of English football.
But Stelling believes that Tuchel should have one particular regret when it comes to his squad selection.
Newcastle’s Tino Livramento was selected in the 26-man squad and even travelled to the United States.
However, on the eve of England’s opener against Croatia last month, Livramento was forced to pull out of the squad after suffering a calf injury.
Rather than turn to like-for-like Real Madrid full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tuchel instead calling up Chelsea’s Chalobah – a centre-back by trade.
Stelling’s stinging assessment
Stelling labelled the decision a convenient choice rather than one that matched the magnitude of the occasion.
“The biggest squad issue for me was when Tino Livramento was injured and had to go home, the obvious choice was to bring in Trent Alexander-Arnold,” Stelling said on the Sports Breakfast.
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“And yet he brings in Trevoh Chalobah who is not a full-back and is never going to start as a full-back for England.
“You may as well have not brought anybody in but Thomas Tuchel gave Trevoh Chalobah his senior debut when he was at Chelsea.
“It was a choice of convenience rather than one which regarded how big a tournament this is.”
Alexander-Arnold’s last cap in the Tuchel era came on June 7, 2025 in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra.
Last summer, the ex-Liverpool star completed a free transfer to Real Madrid however form and fitness prevented him from showing his true potential.
He was omitted from Tuchel’s bumper 35-man squad for the international friendlies against Uruguay and Japan despite fellow right-back Reece James being unavailable through injury.
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Tuchel admitted at the time that he wanted to show faith in those that had helped England complete a 100 per cent qualification campaign.
He said: “These tough decisions come with the job. It is a sporting decision. I know it’s a tough one. I know it’s a big name.
“I think it’s a huge talent and with a big career, but I feel that I know what Trent can give us and decided still to stick to the players who were in camp.”
