Trent Alexander Arnold’s face lit up when England legend David Beckham told him that he can cross a ball.
The former Three Lions captain was visiting the England camp in Al Wakrah, Qatar ahead of their World Cup quarter-final clash against defending champions France on Saturday.
In a video captured by the FA, Beckham was seen speaking to the Liverpool full-back and can be heard giving out some sound advice for the 24-year-old about taking free kicks and crossing the ball.
Beckham said: “When I was at United, Ferguson used to [help]. The moment he saw me off a little bit with either my run-up or the smoothness of kicking it - he'd pull me back in. He'd know exactly what I was doing wrong. So I just kept doing the same thing over and over again, never changed it.”
Alexander Arnold then asked: “Both sides?” to which Beckham agreed.
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When asked if he had a preferred side for free kicks, the former Manchester United man said: “Not really. I scored one against Jamo [David James] at Anfield where I whipped it over the wall and went the other side. To be fair, I liked both sides. Continuous. It's important, it's so important.”
“It is yes, it's routine and repetition,” Alexander Arnold agreed.
Beckham then told the full-back: “You're obviously doing it - so just keep doing whatever you're doing. Because you can cross a ball!”
Alexander Arnold reacted to that with a huge smile across his face, it was a truly wholesome moment captured by the cameras.
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Fans reacted to the conversation between the two.
One said: “Good to see Becks speaking to Trent, giving him much-needed confidence.”
Another commented: “You can see he needed to hear that.”
A third added: “The biggest smile I’ve seen from Trent in quite some time from Beckham’s compliment. Legend.”
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England and France will be going toe to toe on Saturday with a World Cup semi-final place at stake.
Topics: David Beckham, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Football, Football World Cup, England
Marcus Chan