Ben White’s journey with the England national team has seen dramatic highs and lows. The Arsenal defender was omitted from Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for the upcoming European Championships, marking a stark contrast to his emotional reaction three years ago when he was unexpectedly called up for Euro 2020.
In 2020, White received a late call-up to the England squad following an injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold. At that time, he was a Brighton & Hove Albion player. Despite not making an appearance during the tournament, he played the full 90 minutes in a pre-tournament friendly against Romania. I rang my mum straight away, sat down there, cried, mum was crying, mum, my dad, had all my sisters there and, yeah, I just sat and cried for about an hour.”
White, now with four international caps, finds himself on the periphery of the England setup. Southgate, when asked about White’s omission from the Euro 2024 squad, stated: “I didn’t speak to Ben, as far as I know he’s not available to us.”
Despite his international absence, White has enjoyed a strong season with Arsenal, missing only one Premier League match and contributing four goals and four assists. His performances helped Arsenal come close to winning the Premier League and kept 18 clean sheets in the process.
Southgate acknowledged White’s capabilities and versatility when he first included him in the squad, describing him as an “exciting young defender.”
However, he also pointed out the challenge of integrating White back into the team with so many players having been consistent in their positions throughout the qualifying campaign. “The door is open for us,” Southgate said in March, hinting that while White is not completely out of consideration, it would be tough to reintegrate him ahead of the Euros.
For White, the emotional peak of his unexpected Euro 2020 call-up now seems a distant memory as he navigates his uncertain future with the national team.
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