The list of twenty-five English players selected by Gareth Southgate was revealed on Thursday. The coach had to deal with the refusal of an element.
While Didier Deschamps for his part announced who the players called up for the last gathering of the French team before Euro 2024 were, his English counterpart engaged in the same exercise on the other side of the Channel. But the coach of Three Lions had a very special case to deal with. While he wanted to call on Ben White, the latter asked him not to select him.
It is a twist of theater which is confirmed for the English selection, because the story is not at its beginning. The divorce between Ben White and the Three Lions came to light in the middle of the 2022 World Cup. While he was in Qatar with the entire English delegation, the Arsenal player packed up on November 30, just before the round of 16 won by the England faced Senegal, and rushed back to the country.
A refusal without explanation
No official explanation has been given so far. While the English media, including Dailymail, explain this Thursday that White’s categorical refusal to play again in the jersey of the selection could be linked to a difference between Gareth Southgate’s assistant, Steve Holland, and him. But the coach insisted on denying this allegation. “ He is not available to play with us, but what I want to add is that there is no problem between us and never any problem with Steve Holland because that has been mentioned and I don’t like not that. »
The Arsenal defender will therefore not be present for this new gathering, to the great dismay of Gareth Southgate who reiterated his disappointment with the situation. “ It’s a real shame, he’s a player that I really like. I spoke to him after Qatar because I wanted to choose him and there was some reluctance on his part. I don’t know why but I have to respect that and I want to leave the door open for him. » Without Ben White, England will face Brazil and Belgium on March 23 and 26.
