Wayne Rooney speaks out on Kieran Trippier after angry incident with two England teammates

Wayne Rooney has responded to the argument between Kieran Trippier and two of his England teammates.

England progressed to the round of 16 on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw with Slovenia.

Despite disappointing performances in all three matches, the Three Lions topped Group C with five points.

But during the match with Slovenia, fans noticed a heated argument break out between Kieran Trippier and teammates Phil Foden and Declan Rice over a misplaced pass.

And Wayne Rooney has responded to the disagreement, suggesting Gareth Southgate should stick with the Newcastle United fullback for this weekend’s knockout match with Slovakia.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast, he said: “At the minute, it's Tripper or Joe Gomez, for me, who should play there.

“I was very surprised and really shocked that Ben Chilwell didn't get picked - just for the balance of having a left-footed player there.

"So, do you play Tripper or Gomez there? Do you bring Kyle Walker across? Over the past few years, Kyle has been the best right-back in the world. Do you take that away from him and put him at left-back? There's so many imbalances about the team."

Rooney also picked out Liverpool’s Joe Gomez as a potential option at left-back but, with limited international experience in that position, it is more likely that Trippier will once again start for England on Sunday.

The argument between Trippier and his teammates during the match against Slovenia broke out after the left-back received a pass from Foden, who told him to play it towards Rice.

Instead, the Newcastle captain tried to pass to Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, but it was intercepted by a Slovenian defender who put the ball out of play.

This led the frustrated pair of Foden and Rice to immediately approach Trippier, accusing him or ruining a good attacking opportunity.

Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden have both started on the left for all of England's Euro 2024 matches. (Image: Getty)

After the match, the 33-year-old reflected on England’s performance in the dull draw, saying: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and, of course, they want to see more from us.

“Us players, we want to do more, but we have qualified. Hopefully, the performances can get better.

"Being honest, I think we controlled the game [against Slovenia]. We created some chances, but again, we could do better. It’s fair to say, of course, we can.

“But the most important thing is that our objective before the tournament was to qualify, and we’ve done that, and we topped the group."

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