Wayne Rooney branded Trent Alexander-Arnold's recent England omission as "mind-boggling" although the former Manchester United captain would start Reece James at right-back at the World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold was surprisingly left out of England's squads to face Uruguay and Japan in March even though he is playing more this year for Real Madrid and first-choice James missed out due to injury.
Ben White was brought back into the fold from a self-imposed exile and started both friendlies, scoring against Uruguay, in Thomas Tuchel's final squad before he selects his group for this summer's World Cup.
"No disrespect to Ben White, I think he's a really good player, but for him to be in the squad and play ahead of Trent, I find it mind-boggling," Rooney, speaking on the BBC's Wayne Rooney Show, said.
Alexander-Arnold has not featured for England since a second-half substitute appearance in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra 11 months ago.
He initially struggled after swapping Liverpool for Real last summer, but since overcoming a thigh problem in January, the 27-year-old has been a regular starter at the Spanish giants.
But Tuchel said in November that Jarell Quansah was ahead of Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order while Tino Livramento has also deputised at full-back for England more recently.
While Rooney feels James, who has been out since mid-March with a hamstring problem, is "unreliable", the former England captain feels the Chelsea defender is best suited to the right-sided England role.
- World Cup injuries: Who's ruled out and who could still play? Hugo Ekitike, Rodrygo, Lamine Yamal, more
- England 2026 World Cup watch: Who's trending up, who's trending down as Thomas Tuchel mulls squad
- Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins: England snub gave my 'fire back'
"We don't need our full-backs to be the most attacking, we need them to defend," added Rooney, who said he would select James alongside Harry Maguire, Marc Guéhi and Luke Shaw in England's back four.
"We've got attacking ability at the top end of the pitch. We don't need them to be bombing forward, keep the balance and let the attacking players win you the games.
"In terms of the lads who are in there, you wouldn't say they were the best defensively anyway."
