Gary Lineker slams Gareth Southgate for ‘leaving England’s most creative player on the bench’ in shock 1-0 loss to Italy
GARY LINEKER criticised Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exclusion from the England team as he identified a lack of creativity in Gareth Southgate’s side.
England lost 1-0 to Italy and have not scored a goal from open play in 450 minutes of football.
The defeat at the San Siro relegated the Three Lions from Nations League group A but Lineker has bigger concerns.
The Match of the Day presenter feels Southgate has got things wrong by not placing his trust in Liverpool star Alexander-Arnold, who provided 12 assists in 32 Premier League games last season.
Lineker also believes Leicester star James Maddison is worthy of a place in the England squad because of his eye for a pass.
Lineker tweeted following the defeat: “A gentle reminder that England’s most creative midfielder, James Maddison was not in the squad of 28.
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“And England’s most creative footballer, Trent Alexander-Arnold sat on the bench getting splinters in his arse…”
Lineker was not alone in his criticism of Southgate as the England boss was booed by the travelling fans at the end of the match.
England are five games without a win, their worst run since 2014, and have only one match to try and turn things around before the World Cup – a Wembley meeting with Germany on Monday.
But Southgate is ready for the pressure and has faith his players can get back to winning ways.
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He said after the match: “We are on a run of bad results, it’s for us to put that right.
“The only way to do that is to stick what we believe, stick with what’s got us success in previous tournaments and in the end the players have got to stay really tight.
“There’s going to be a lot of noise but that will be around me and that’s absolutely fine. It’s my job to take that pressure for them.
“I understand the reaction at the end because that’s the results we’ve had in this competition. It’s an understandable emotional reaction.”