Tuchel hails Alexander-Arnold after England’s 2-0 Nations League win in Czechia
On Tuesday Thomas Tuchel praised Trent Alexander-Arnold after England defeated Czechia 2-0 away in a Nations League match, with the Real Madrid defender setting up the opening goal.
Alexander-Arnold made his first England appearance since June 2025 and, according to the manager, arrived with a point to prove after missing out on a World Cup spot. England moved on from their defeat to Spain with what Tuchel described as a comfortable win; Alexander-Arnold’s cross found Anthony Gordon for an early second-half goal. The game was altered when Pavel Sulc received a red card at 0-0, after which the Real Madrid defender was noted for his possession play.
Tuchel said: "We never doubted that he can produce these kind of assists. I think the second half the position, a bit of a deeper position, suited him more than the higher position in the first half. Overall, I think we had a good and professional performance. Of course the red card is such a heavy influence in the game. "We need to keep focused, and Trent was a big help in this, because he’s very secure on the ball and can be decisive with his crosses. He did this solid defending and one decisive action that helped us score, so a good performance overall."
Jude Bellingham began the match on the bench and took the captain's armband after replacing Harry Kane in the closing stages. Tuchel commented on Bellingham's role in the squad, saying: "He was the captain against New Zealand before the World Cup. It is always a reward and always an honour. If you’re the captain at the end of these matches you can for sure be the permanent captain. "He loves to be with us at the moment. We had this small talk today about his role. We felt in our hearts to say: ‘Let’s go again, let’s start again’ and also our heads told us maybe 30 minutes is enough for this match because he hasn’t played in this quick turnaround through this season. He has done it before, but not in the season, so we didn’t want to be the first ones to try that. But even in this little encounter, you can see that he’s confident and happy to help from the bench."
England extended their advantage with a late goal from Harry Kane and sit second in Group A3 after Spain’s 4-1 win over Croatia.
England travel to Croatia on Saturday, and Tuchel said he hopes Manchester City left-back Nico O’Reilly will return from injury.