Gary Lineker, a former England international, blasted manager Gareth Southgate for leaving defender Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench during Friday night's 1-0 Nations League victory over Italy.

Lineker criticized Southgate for leaving James Maddison out of his 28-man roster, calling him England's most inventive midfielder.

After falling to Italy 1-0 at the San Siro in Milan, their third defeat in five games, England was relegated to the Nations League.

At the conclusion of the game, the away fans booed Southgate off the field, just months after they jeered him at Wembley after England's humiliating 4-0 loss to Hungary in June.

However, Southgate has now come under intense criticism of late, with Lineker the latest to slam the coach for his reasoning for leaving Alexander-Arnold, who he described as England’s most creative footballer, out of the starting line-up against Italy.

In a tweet via his Twitter handle, Lineker wrote: “A gentle reminder that England’s most creative midfielder, @Madders10, was not in the squad of 28. And England’s most creative footballer, @TrentAA, sat on the bench getting splinters in his a**... ”