Wayne Rooney has branded Trent Alexander-Arnold's continued absence from the England squad as "mind-boggling," reigniting a fierce debate over the right-back position just months before the World Cup.

The former England captain didn't hold back when discussing Thomas Tuchel's squad selection for the upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. Despite Reece James being sidelined with injury, Alexander-Arnold—who has been a regular for Real Madrid since recovering from a thigh problem in January—was once again overlooked.

"No disrespect to Ben White—I think he's a fantastic player—but for him to be in the squad and playing ahead of Trent is mind-boggling," Rooney said on his podcast.

White started both friendlies and even scored England's opener against Uruguay, but the debate goes deeper. Newcastle's Tino Livramento, Tottenham's Djed Spence, and Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa were all named in Tuchel's 35-man preliminary squad ahead of the Liverpool academy graduate, who hasn't played for his country since a brief appearance against Andorra in June last year.

Rooney's former Everton teammate Phil Jagielka, however, believes the World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA could still feature Alexander-Arnold. "I think he probably still makes it. You need your best players. If he proves he can play half as well as he did for most of his time at Liverpool, he's definitely worth taking on the plane," Jagielka said. "If Reece James is fit, you put him in at right-back."

Interestingly, Rooney would also start James on the right side of defence this summer, despite describing the Chelsea star as "unreliable" defensively. "Reece James isn't the most defensive. In terms of the lads who are there, you wouldn't say they're the best defensively anyway, any of them," Rooney added.

With the World Cup squad deadline looming, the battle for the right-back spot is heating up—and for many fans watching at home, Alexander-Arnold's omission remains one of the biggest talking points of the season.