The Reds’ No.66 was selected to start in midfield by head coach Gareth Southgate for the Group C encounter in Gelsenkirchen.

Alexander-Arnold completed 69 minutes of the fixture – with Liverpool teammate Joe Gomez named on the bench – after helping his nation earn an advantage in the first half.

For the 69 minutes Alexander-Arnold played, he will have known that he walked a fine line. Perhaps at the back of his mind was the notion that if he made a mistake – defensive or attacking – then the focus would be upon him.

In the meantime he had to learn a role different from any other he had played. He had to judge when he might burst forward and when he had to cover – which is not easy, in a team in which Bellingham roamed as the mood took him.

Nevertheless, Alexander-Arnold had some very good moments: a key interception that set up a counter-аttаck, the cross-field ball to Bukayo Saka, a step forward past Nemanja Gudelj that drew a foul for a free-kιck that Alexander-Arnold himself claimed.

As Serbia got on top of England at the start of the second half it was Alexander-Arnold who pinged a flat, lofted right-to-left diagonal out to Kieran Trippier. He had a shot on goal too.

Southgate noted that Bellingham’s role meant that Alexander-Arnold had to “cover a lot of space” which was, the England manager said, a new experience.

“He showed great discipline. He showed in some moments that fantastic passing range. We are learning with him in this role. He showed some of the attributes he can bring [to it].”