Keane says Alexander-Arnold is “walking away from the danger”; Tuchel calls England’s win over Croatia “a perfect evening”

England beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League on Thursday night, and Thomas Tuchel called it “a perfect evening”. Roy Keane, working for ITV Sport, was far less impressed with one part of it: Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defending.

What Keane said

Goals from Morgan Rogers and Harry Kane gave a much-changed England the win, but Croatia pulled one back from a corner with half an hour left, when Jarell Quansah tried to head the ball back to Jordan Pickford. Keane accepted that Quansah had erred, but he turned his attention to the right-back.

“You have to look at Trent in these positions,” Keane said, as reported by Football365. “I know Quansah has panicked. But Trent – you talk about smelling danger and people peeling off the back of him. They’re the bits he’s got to improve on.”

Then came the line that will sting. “He’s walking away from the danger. At his age, it’s like he’ll never learn that side of it. I’d love to know what he’s thinking. I don’t understand.”

Keane also gave a broader verdict on the night. He said it was a tricky game for England after they had beaten Croatia heavily recently, that Croatia were much better this time, and that a new centre-back partnership led to “a little bit of panic in the second half” in England’s defending.

Tuchel’s view: a demanding night, handled well

The England head coach saw the same match very differently. “It was a good win. We wanted the win desperately and deserved it,” Tuchel said. He admitted his side got “a little sloppy” at the end of the first half and then forgot to score a third, but concluded: “A perfect evening.”

Crucially, Tuchel defended the defence. “It was demanding for Quansah and Burn,” he said, explaining that Croatia played with two No. 10s, forcing England’s back four to push and communicate constantly. “There was a lot of work for them, a lot of communication – they did very well.”

Is Keane being fair?

Keane’s criticism is not new in its theme. Alexander-Arnold’s creativity has never been in doubt; the debate throughout his career has been about his defending, particularly his awareness of runners at the back post. What makes Keane’s verdict harsh is its finality. “He’ll never learn that side of it” is a judgement on a player who has spent his career at the highest level, not a note on one corner.

There is also the question of who was actually at fault. By Keane’s own account, Quansah “panicked” with the header back. England were fielding a new-look defence, with Alexander-Arnold, Dan Burn, Quansah and Lewis Hall all starting because of injuries, and some looseness in an unfamiliar back four is hardly surprising. Tuchel’s point about the tactical load on his centre-backs suggests the coaching staff saw a system under pressure rather than individual negligence.

Yet Keane’s point has substance. Full-backs in a back four facing two No. 10s have to make decisions about when to tuck in and when to hold the width, and “smelling danger” is exactly the instinct Keane says is missing. For a player trying to establish himself in Tuchel’s plans, that kind of observation matters more than a single result.

The bigger England picture

The Croatia game was one of Tuchel’s chances to test depth, and it has produced debates across the pitch. Earlier this week Paul Robinson argued that Jordan Pickford remains England’s first-choice goalkeeper, as we covered in Robinson says Pickford is still England’s No. 1. Keane has now opened another argument, on the right side of the defence.

For Alexander-Arnold, the answer is the same as it has always been: the attacking quality buys time, but pundits like Keane will keep judging him on the moments when England do not have the ball.