England’s squad for the March international break has been named, and it doesn’t include Ben White. England manager Gareth Southgate has explained that the Arsenal defender requested to not be selected for the coming games, after his absence.
White was reportedly at odds with Southgate after not being played at the 2022 World Cup, which caused his exit in the middle of their campaign. He hasn’t played for the national team since, clearly signalling something wrong between himself and the coaching staff.
Ben White misses out on England squad: The real reason
“Clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in. We had a call from Edu last week [and he] said Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time,” Southgate told reporters on Tuesday.
“For me that is a great shame. He is a player we took to the Euros, a player we took to the World Cup and I spoke to him post-Qatar because I wanted to pick him. He is not available to us and there is no issue between us at all and I also should say there is never any issue with [coach] Steve Holland because that has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that. I want that door wide open. He would be in this squad but he’s not available to us and I have to focus on who can help us.”
At Brighton, he was prominently featuring as a central defender before his move to Arsenal. Since joining the Gunners, he has been playing as a right-back, and has adapted very well to the hybrid system that Mikel Arteta plays him in.
Southgate will be without a number of right-sided defenders for the upcoming friendlies. Kieran Trippier, Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all been ruled out with injury, leaving Kyle Walker as the only natural option. Ben White would have been a great addition, but his reluctance to play for the national team will be a significant problem, especially if he doesn’t want to play at the Euros.
