England fans convinced Trent Alexander-Arnold will start Euro 2024 opener as official shirt numbers revealed

Trent Alexander-Arnold has become a huge talking point after the official England squad numbers for Euro 2024 were confirmed.

Gareth Southgate announced his 26-man squad ahead of this summer's tournament on Thursday as seven players missed out, including Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire.

Now, after stumbling to a surprise 1-0 defeat against Iceland, the group will travel to their base in Germany ahead of their much-anticipated opener against Serbia on June 16.

So who will feature in the first group stage game in Gelsenkirchen? Well, the official shirt numbers were released on Saturday morning which may indicate who will start.

As you can see below, Jordan Pickford has been handed the number one jersey over Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson, while Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, John Stones and Marc Guehi make up the 2-6 slots.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, is expected to play in midfield after he was given the number eight.

Here are the numbers in full:

1 Jordan Pickford

2 Kyle Walker

3 Luke Shaw

4 Declan Rice

5 John Stones

6 Marc Guéhi

7 Bukayo Saka

8 Trent Alexander-Arnold

9 Harry Kane

10 Jude Bellingham

11 Phil Foden

12 Kieran Trippier

13 Aaron Ramsdale

14 Ezri Konsa

15 Lewis Dunk

16 Conor Gallagher

17 Ivan Toney

18 Anthony Gordon

19 Ollie Watkins

20 Jarrod Bowen

21 Eberechi Eze

22 Joe Gomez

23 Dean Henderson

24 Cole Palmer

25 Adam Wharton

26 Kobbie Mainoo

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the news.

One said: "Am I mad thinking Trent being number 8 means he’s going to start most games," while another commented: "Potentially a nod towards him being the preferred Rice partner."

A third wrote: "Trent as an 8 and Jude wearing the 10 tells me everything I need to know."

A fourth said: "My advice for Southgate and England: always start Trent in midfield and watch England go far in the Euros. He's the best passer of the ball they've got. Use him right and see England soar high."

A fifth added: "Trent 8? He’s actually playing midfield isn’t he."

Gareth Southgate was certainly impressed with Alexander-Arnold's midfield performance alongside Conor Gallagher as he experimented in their 3-0 win over Bosnia on Monday.

"We were very pleased," he said when asked about the Liverpool man.

"It is a role he is discovering and he is hungry to learn and has been since I talked to him about playing it a year or so ago, and equally what we saw in the last half an hour is also an important option for us as well.

"We are going to have different challenges in this tournament, and we are going to have to have different ways of solving problems that teams pose us."

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Trent Alexander-Arnold’s game by number against Bosnia:

⚽️ 1 goal
👟 89% pass accuracy (90) 🥇
🥶 5 chances created 🥇
👍 121 touches
👌🏽 4 accurate crosses
☕️ 7 accurate long balls
⚔️ 3 recoveries
⭐️ 8.7 match rating

Incredible performance! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/zDiIqtR4Wf

— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) June 3, 2024

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