Right back is one of the clearest problem positions in Thomas Tuchel\u2019s England squad. With a summer World Cup approaching, the manager faces limited choices and few guaranteed solutions.<\/p>\n
Trent Alexander-Arnold missing out on the 2026 World Cup would have seemed unfathomable a year or so ago. The former Liverpool man was widely regarded as one of the best right backs of his generation because of his elite passing range and crossing ability, despite lingering questions over his defensive frailties. His move to Real Madrid has altered that narrative. What was meant to be a career-defining transfer has instead been difficult: the England international has struggled for consistent starts and his defensive issues have come under an even harsher spotlight in the pressure cooker environment of the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u. Injuries certainly have not helped, and few will be surprised he did not make the final cut.<\/p>\n
Ben White and Rico Lewis were perhaps the next-best alternatives among those who missed out, but in truth neither did enough over the course of the season to force their way into Tuchel\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
Tino Livramento presents a different profile. The former Chelsea youngster brings a natural attacking instinct, regularly bursting forward, overlapping at pace and delivering dangerous crosses into the box. Those attributes make him, on paper, a strong fit for Tuchel\u2019s preferred style. He is also no liability defensively, offering a well-rounded presence on the flank. Livramento has shown versatility too, alternating between right back and left back duties for Newcastle during Lewis Hall\u2019s injury absence.<\/p>\n
The obvious caveat is fitness. Livramento has suffered a range of problems this term, including knee, hamstring and thigh issues, and missed a large portion of the campaign. That record makes him a risk at a tournament where minutes must be managed carefully, and it is likely Tuchel will monitor his workload closely if he is called upon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tuchel has limited right-back options for 2026; Alexander-Arnold omitted, Livramento a risk concerns<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961,172],"tags":[984,1712],"class_list":["post-14002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-epl","tag-ben-white","tag-tino-livramento"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}