England great Gary Lineker has taken a snipe at Gareth Southgate after Trent Alexander-Arnold watched the Three Lions lose to Italy on Friday evening from the bench.
Both the Liverpool full-back and club teammate Jordan Henderson were unused substitutes in Milan as England were relegated from their Nations League Group following a 1-0 defeat to Roberto Mancini's side.
Chelsea's Reece James was preferred by Southgate at right-back and the 22-year-old was given the opportunity to fire a free-kick on goal in the second half, only to balloon his effort high over the bar.
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After the game, Match of the Day host Lineker took to social media to air his disappointment at not seeing more creative players on the pitch, including Liverpool's number 66 and Leicester midfielder James Maddison, who did not travel to Milan.
Writing on Twitter, Lineker said: "A gentle reminder that England’s most creative midfielder, @Madders10 was not in the squad of 28. And England’s most creative footballer, @TrentAA sat on the bench getting splinters in his a***…"
England's defeat to Italy left them bottom of Group A3 with just two points from five matches. Southgate's side will have one final Nations League match against Germany on Monday before the England coach must consider his final squad to take to Qatar for the World Cup in November.
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