From Hoddle to Carrick: Alexander-Arnold's England exile mirrors decades of misused stars | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold was the headline omission from the latest England squad, with the Real Madrid right-back out of favour once again.

Despite a decorated club career, Alexander-Arnold has struggled to shake the narrative that his defensive acumen is not up to scratch. It's created a bizarre scenario, where one of the most naturally gifted footballers of his generation has found himself on the fringes with England.

It's not the first time that England have under-capped and wasted seriously top talent.

Glenn Hoddle

A total of 53 appearances for England might feel a considerable sum, but when assessed against Glenn Hoddle's natural talent, feels short. Hoddle was a marvellous maverick, one which England failed to get the best from on the big stage.

He played just 212 minutes across Euro 1980 and the 1982World Cup, watching on from the sidelines as England exited both tournaments.

In the latter, goalless draws with Germany and Spain condemned England to an early exit, in stalemates that Hoddle's creativity could have helped.

Matt Le Tissier

Another nonconformist whose fun-factor failed to win trust with England. Le Tissier lit up the Premier League during a one-club career at Southampton, in which he repeatedly performed rescue-acts to keep the Saints in the division.

He scored 20+ league goals in three different top-flight campaigns, but earned only eight caps for England.

For comparison, that's less than Rickie Lambert (11). That's without mentioning Le Tissier's terrific penalty record, with 47 spot-kicks scored from 48 attempts. How England could have done with such composure during shootout exits at Euro '96 and the 1998 World Cup.

Andy Cole

England had an embarrassment of riches at centre-forward throughout the nineties, but Andy Cole's career haul of 15 caps was insufficient. Cole led the Premier League for goals and assists at Newcastle, before winning five league titles and a treble atManchester United.

Only Alan Shearer (204) has everscored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League than Cole (186), but ex-England manager Glenn Hoddle's unfair assessment that Cole “needs four or five chances to score a goal” stuck like mud.

Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick collected trophy after trophy at Manchester United but found England opportunities scarce.

The midfielder made just 34 appearances for the Three Lions over an international career that spanned 14 years. Only 22 of those came from the start, and just one was at a major international tournament.

Sure, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes offered considerable competition, but England suffered for shoehorning that trio into the same side.

Carrick's continental-style composure could have brought the best from others, at a time when England often struggled to keep hold of the ball.