England coach Gareth Southgate has disclosed what informed his decision to drop Arsenal defender Ben White from his squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers.
England will face Italy on March 23 before locking horns with Ukraine three days later.
White was part of England’s 26-man World Cup squad in Qatar but he did not play a single game in despite being
However, the 25-year-old has continued to impress for the Gunners, helping them maintain a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
White is originally a Centre-Back but plays as Right-Back where England is blessed with several options.
Southgate said there will be no space for White since he now plays in a ‘similar’ position to Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, who also missed out due to competition from Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and the returning Chelsea star Reece James.
“It’s similar with Ben and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] really, the three boys who are in as right full-backs we’ve got them just ahead of those two,” Southgate told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s the hardest position to pick. But Kyle [Walker] and Tripps [Trippier] were obviously the ones who played during the World Cup and Reece coming back is another top player.”
Discussion about this post