A few weeks ago, Alexander-Arnold looked on the outside after missing the recent games against Uruguay and Japan. The picture now looks different.
That matters because tournament squad building is rarely about first choice alone. It is about cover, durability and tactical flexibility. Tuchel now has to decide whether experience, recent club minutes or trust from earlier camps carries the most weight.
The strongest part of Alexander-Arnold’s case is not reputation. It is timing.
After a difficult campaign in which he has started only 14 league matches, his standing at Real Madrid appears to have improved. He has started five of the club’s last six matches, a run that has pushed him back into serious contention.
That does not automatically make him first choice. Dani Carvajal and Federico Valverde have often been preferred on the right side for Real Madrid, and Tuchel has shown he values players who settle quickly into his camps. But the recent uptick gives Alexander-Arnold a live argument instead of a sentimental one.
The selection issue may come down to squad balance as much as pure ranking.
That leaves Alexander-Arnold in a familiar position: talented enough to change a game, but still fighting to prove he fits the tournament plan. The next clues will come in the warm-up matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica before England open against Croatia on 17 June.