Tuchel's defensive gambles and what do they say about Alexander-Arnold?

Tino Livramento's departure from England's World Cup squad has exposed the gambles and potential weaknesses in head coach Thomas Tuchel's defensive selection.

Livramento sustained a calf injury in training before Wednesday's opening World Cup group game against Croatia in Dallas (21:00 BST), with Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah called up as his replacement .

Tuchel's initial picks in this crucial area already carried high risk given the injury problems of likely starters Reece James and John Stones last season, which Livramento's departure will bring under further scrutiny.

And the choice of Chalobah, a central defender by trade, will once again fire up the debate about why Tuchel seems to have no intention of restoring Trent Alexander-Arnold to England duty.

Livramento's latest injury should come as no surprise to Tuchel given the Newcastle full-back - who carried the appeal of being able to play on both flanks - missed most of the end of last season with a thigh problem and had also been absent with hamstring issues.

It leaves England with three natural full-backs in James, Tottenham Hotspur's Djed Spence - another who can play on right and left - along with Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly, who can also play in midfield.

Newcastle's Dan Burn can play at left-back, while Jarell Quansah and Ezri Konsa can play in the wide positions, but there would be serious worries about deploying any of them in unaccustomed roles against high-class forwards at a World Cup.

As Tuchel's successor Sir Gareth Southgate found when he played Alexander-Arnold in midfield at Euro 2024, a major tournament is no time for experiments or square pegs in round holes.