Kid Trent’s so proud of England slot

Trent Alexander-Arnold is thrilled with his place in England’s World Cup squad.

The uncapped 19-yearold, preparing with Liverpool in Marbella ahead of theChampionsLeaguefinal against Real Madrid on May 26, joins fellow right-backs Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man group for the finals in Russia next month.

“I’m honoured, excited and feeling really proud,” Alexander-Arnold told liverpoolfc.com.

“It was an unbelievable moment to find out I was going to go to the World Cup, especially at a young age. It’s probably capped off a really good season for me.

“I found out this morning, just before we came out to Marbella. The manager came and spoke to me just as we were getting on the plane.

“He asked me if I knew anything about the squad or anything yet. I said, ‘no’ and he said, ‘Have you got anything planned around the time of the World Cup?’. I was like, ‘No, no holidays or anything...’.

“He said to me, ‘OK, good... You’re in the squad!’. It was a really proud moment. On England’s behalf, it was nice of them to let the manager tell me.”

Under-21 cap Alexander-Arnold is joined in the squad by Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson.

Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp revealed his delight at giving the good news. “It is nice, a nice story,” Klopp said. “Gareth Southgate gave me a call and told me that I am allowed to tell him, but then I had some press work to do and didn’t have time.

“So, in the bus to the plane, I saw Trent for the first time. I thought maybe he knew already and someone else had called him.

“I had the honour of telling him and it was nice to see the reaction in his eyes. It’s fantastic, it’s well deserved, what a season. What a season!

“Can you be too young? No. You can be not good enough – but he is good enough. It’s just a wonderful little piece more which makes this season special, even before the last game [against Real Madrid].”