Fans were understandably up in arms following England's embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Hungary in the Nations League earlier today.
Some were questioning Southgate's coaching abilities, wondering if he was getting the most out of an uber-talented England squad, despite their recent good showing at the last World Cup and Euros. Others were lamenting Trent Alexander-Arnold for not singing the national anthem before kick-off.
Look at everyone singing the national anthem other than Trent😭😭 pic.twitter.com/0vt6L6TEbk
— Josh (@joshseal0) June 4, 2022
Alexander-Arnold is of course Liverpool born and bred, where they have a history of being anti-the Crown and the establishment, dating back to the Thatcher/Hillsborough era.
This was also a topical issue just weeks ago, when Liverpool fans booed the national anthem during the FA Cup final.
Interestingly, former Ireland international Declan Rice was singing the anthem.
Social Media was flush with responses to Alexander-Arnold's actions, with many supporting the England right-back, while others were unsurprisingly not particularly pleased.
Trent Alexander Arnold continually refusing to sing the national anthem is honestly one of my favourite things about international football 😂
— Louis Dangoor (@TheLouisDangoor) June 4, 2022
Trent the only one not to sing the anthem. Get him gone.
— West Ham Transfers (@westhamtransfer) June 4, 2022
A lot of the criticism levelled towards Alexander-Arnold in general is that he is too attacking and not 'well-rounded' enough, like his compatriot Reece James. Ironically, it was James who conceded the penalty that lead to Hungary's goal just a minute after being substituted for Arnold.
Following the game, Southgate gave his thoughts on Channel 4, on what went wrong for England.
"We have to accept that we did not do enough to win the game, a draw would have been the fair outcome. We did not create too many clear cut chances and the actual result hinged on a decision which is harsh but probably won't be overturned.
"Once it has been given as a penalty, he probably will not overturn it. You see challenges like that in the box, Reece James puts his body between the ball and the forward makes a meal of it. Away from home sometimes you will get those calls.
"It has (been a long season) the heat was a factor and took a lot out of the players and we tried to refresh the team earlier than normal. The balance of finding out about new things and the consistency of the regular team, I have to look at whether I got that right.
"I don't want to be too harsh on them, these are games where we need to learn from. They are bitterly disappointed because we want to keep winning matches. If we want to be a team right at the top tier of football, we need to come here and win."
SEE ALSO: England Booed By Crowd Of Children For Taking A Knee In Hungary
