Trent Alexander-Arnold shines for England in the No. 10 shirt with a goal and a “assist”

Gareth Southgate praised Trent Alexander-Arnold for buying England’s experimenting midfield and demonstrating what he was capable of in the comfortable win against Malta.

The 24-year-old may be a fixture at Liverpool but he has often flattered himself that he is cheating with the international side, with intense competition for the right-back limiting opportunities.

Alexander-Arnold struggled in midfield against Andorra when Southgate tried him there in September 2021, but things worked out much better in Malta as he won just his 19th cap on Friday night.

The England star had his hands on all three goals in the first half, including fine strikes either side of Ferdinando Apap’s own goal and a Harry Kane penalty.

Substitute Callum Wilson completed a 4-0 win with his own penalty, but that was Alexander-Arnold’s night as the Southgate side continued their winning start to Euro 2024 qualifying.

“Inevitably a lot of what happens will depend a bit on your club,” said the England coach.
“The fact that he plays the ball partly there, albeit a little deeper, I think helped his transition tonight.

“What was nice tonight is that he’s getting used to receiving in tight spaces with his back to goal, with the players behind him.

“While she is used to receiving on the touchline, with the game in front of her, and she was very comfortable with that.

“Look, I have no doubt she can do it. It’s just about learning certain nuances of the role, especially off the ball, which is very different for him.

“But he is very interested in it. If you like, he liked this kind of project.
“We spoke about it on the phone about four weeks ago and I think he was blown away and showed exactly what we think he could be capable of. He gives us something different from our other midfielders. .”

It was a much easier evening for England than the last trip to Malta, when a dismal and goalless first half against the limited hosts saw the traveling supporters rouse the team. Southgate’s side have come a long way in the past six years and there has never been a risk of losing their record 100% Euro 2024 qualification in the third game of Group C.

“Obviously we know we have the quality to win games, but it depends on the mentality and I thought that was great from the start,” Southgate said.

“We tried to strike a balance with a few experienced players who give you the edge on the pitch and set the tone. That’s how they trained all week.

“Especially when the ball was lost, the reaction of getting the ball back was a sign that the team was doing well mentally.

“Then obviously good quality for early goals, mainly, so yeah, we made it look quite easy.
“Which, as we know from last time around, isn’t always the case here!

“We’ve been able to look into some things, we’ve been able to sign players, we’ve been able to let some players go, so we’re really happy with the night.”

England are now turning their attention to Monday’s home game with North Macedonia after preventing Malta – 172nd ranked in the world – from getting a shot in the penalty area, let alone an attempt on target.

Manager Michele Marcolini said: “I think we didn’t have a shot on goal because England pressed very hard for 90 minutes and didn’t give us a chance to play easily.

Never, ever.
“Honestly, the difference was physically noticeable. To be honest, we can’t just build the action.
“We are sorry, but in the end we have to be honest and say that a game like this is very difficult for us with the behavior of the opponent.”

“When you play with this difference between the teams, you have to hope that the opponent will come here a little calmer or that the game will be easy.

“But that didn’t happen today because England have an incredible attitude on the pitch from the first minute to the end.”