England head coach Thomas Tuchel made the journey to Madrid on his latest World Cup reconnaissance mission and was richly rewarded by a thrilling Champions League tie between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Tuchel's eyes were trained on Real Madrid pair Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham, as well as captain Harry Kane in his role as Bayern's prime goalscorer. He will have left with suspicions confirmed about Alexander-Arnold, as well as concrete evidence from Bellingham and Kane that they are surely indispensable when England's World Cup campaign kicks off against Croatia in Arlington on 17 June. As a classic unfolded - which Bayern deservedly won 2-1 - the game held contrasting fortunes for those Tuchel had under his microscope. This was Alexander-Arnold in microcosm, and was not the sort of performance to have Tuchel shuffling the names already formed in his mind for World Cup selection.

Source: BBC April 07, 2026 23:10 UTC