Trent Alexander-Arnold He had to wait for his moment. More than six years since his England debut, during tournaments where he was injured or underused. For three and a half games, after abandoning the experiment – as it was semi-officially called – of starting with him in midfield. For 115 minutes, until he was filed against Switzerland. During the penalty shootout, until he was last.
“You have to be ready for the moment that comes and I think the other day I summed that up more than anything,” he said. Prepare? He seemed to like it. Penalties are sometimes described as “unstoppable.” Perhaps Alexander-Arnold’s really was, dispatched by Yann Sommer with a mix of power and precision. It measured 125.6 km/h (78 mph), making it the most difficult shot of the tournament so far.
He had the air of a man in complete control, and after wild abandon, kicking the ball into the air after it ricocheted into the net for him. What was shaping up to be a demoralizing situation Euro 2024a tournament where he lost his place and could have been the scapegoat for his failure, instead it produced its moment.
It is destined to be repeated again and again; even more so if England win Euro 2024, but their penalty shootout triumphs have been rare enough to give the victory over Switzerland an unusual feel. And for Alexander-Arnold, whose England career, with his first 28 caps spread across six years and various positions, a story of unfulfilled potential brought great excitement. Alexander-Arnold did not know when he was hired that he was scheduled to take the fifth penalty. “My role in coming out was – not to let it get to the pens,” he explained. But happened. It all came down to Alexander-Arnold: he has scored from penalties for Liverpool before, but never as the fifth man.
“It’s positive pressure, actually. It was exciting, I’ve never been in that position before to score a winning penalty, so it was a new experience for me.” This pressure could have been even greater: Bukayo Saka missed the fifth penalty in the Euro 2020 final and, like Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, was subject to horrific racial abuse. Alexander-Arnold did not contemplate the chance of a repeat. “At the time, no one was thinking about it,” he said. “We have a job to do. We are English, we represent our country, skin color doesn’t matter.”
And Alexander-Arnold has had relatively few opportunities to represent his country. He has been Liverpool’s local hero, never the national hero. He had his moment in Liverpool colors; quite a lot, actually. But the most famous was a set piece that featured his technique, his coolness under pressure. It was Jurgen Klopp’s favorite assist, the corner for Divock Origi to score the fourth goal against Barcelona in 2019. But if Klopp trusted Alexander-Arnold in a way that Southgate didn’t always seem to do, the England manager placed his fate in Alexander – Arnold’s hands. “We received the order,” he said. He neither offered nor refused. “There was no part of me that was nervous,” he said. “I like these moments. I am a player who likes to participate in big games, big moments and win games.”
With five minutes of football in the round of 16, he has less taste for it. He has been seen on the back of buses in Berlin more than on a football pitch; His image was plastered on them as part of an advertising campaign, but the fact that he had the profile to model jeans was not a result of his status as a marginal figure in England over the past six years. This came from his excellence in a Liverpool shirt.
Which Southgate hoped he could replicate for England, but in a different role, with different teammates. Alexander-Arnold’s last contribution as a starter in midfield was an extraordinary 60-yard pass to Bukayo Saka against Denmark. But then his number came up and Conor Gallagher, more industrious and less creative, appeared. In turn, he was replaced by Kobbie Mainoo.
“I think as we’ve gone along, the coach has needed different players and it’s worked,” he said. “There are no negative vibes or energy around any of the decisions made. For me, everything is part of football. The game takes you on a journey. Of course I would like to maintain my position in the team and start every game, but the coach made decisions and I respect his decisions. And they worked: we are still in the competition.”
If it was a triumph of mentality that Alexander-Arnold recovered from losing his place to score his penalty. However, his verdict on his time in midfield was instructive. If he wasn’t afraid of suffering a penalty, he didn’t even shy away from a different role. “It was pleasant,” he said. “I liked it, I like playing football, I like being on a football field. It was first and foremost the trust that the coach placed in me, I am very grateful for that.” And now Southgate has reason to be grateful to Alexander-Arnold.
