'A lot of rubbish!' - Bellingham offers Alexander-Arnold midfield verdict after England tournament opener | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold played his first tournament match as a midfielder for England as the Three Lions defeated Serbia 1-0 in their opening Euro 2024 match on Sunday night.

Alexander-Arnold’s selection as England’s No.8 was one of the key talking points heading into the tournament with the Liverpool right back holding off competition from the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Conor Gallagher to earn a starting place alongside Declan Rice.

While some assessments have been mixed to say the least, with Roy Keane reckoning the 25-year-old will get ‘ripped to shreds’ in midfield, the Reds’ homegrown star has been given a ringing endorsement by midfield colleague Jude Bellingham.

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The Real Madrid superstar scored the only goal of the game for Gareth Southgate’s side against a resolute and hard to break down Serbia and he credits Alexander-Arnold for his positivity in the centre of midfield.

Bellingham, 20, also hit back against what he said was ‘rubbish’ being spoken about Alexander-Arnold in the build-up to the tournament, insisting he has the quality on the ball as well as defensively to shine as a midfielder on the international stage.

Bellingham: Trent was brilliant

“Brilliant,” Bellingham told ITV of Alexander-Arnold after the game. “He makes it so easy for me because he can control the game so well.

“Defensively I think in that position, I know people talk a lot of rubbish, but I think he was so aggressive with the back to goal pressure and it really helped me as well because it meant that I got a breather when he went out.

“I think we understand each other well with the ball. He wants to play positive all the time, he wants to play forward all the time. And I think we accept as teammates who have that kind of quality that we're going to lose the ball and that's fine.

“We'll win it back for each other and we'll keep playing. I thought he was brilliant.”

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