Gareth Southgate: Cheap Ben White football shirts says no to England.
The England manager on Thursday named a 25-man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, with Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon both named for the first time, while Ivan Toney was recalled following his eight-month suspension for betting offences.
However, despite injuries to several defenders, including Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Marc Guehi, White did not feature despite excelling in a highly competitive game. Cheap Arsenal football shirts ladies who top the Premier League and are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
White was selected for the 2022 World Cup but left the training camp early due to “personal reasons” and had an argument with Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland on the training ground.
The 26-year-old has not been included in a squad since the World Cup in Qatar and when Southgate asked if he was now available, he said: “Look, that’s absolutely the question you should ask because it’s clearly on form, I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in.
“We, [FA technical director] John McDermott, got a call from [Arsenal technical director] Edu last week to say that Ben didn’t want to be in the England squad at the moment.
“For me it’s a great shame. He is a player that I really like. He’s a player we took to the European Championships when he was at Brighton, a player we took to the World Cup.
“I spoke to him after Qatar because I was keen to pick him and there was a clear hesitation on his part. I don’t really know why that is, but I have to respect that.
“I want to leave the door open for him because he is a good player. I think he is a player who can make a difference for England.
“But he is not available to us and the only other thing I would say is that there is no problem between us at all, and also never a problem with Steve Holland because it has been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.
“People can talk about me and I have to accept that things are said that are false about me and for some reason in this role you almost have to accept that. But I’m not prepared for that to happen to a key member of my coaching team because that’s not the reason why Ben is not available for selection.
“He would be in this squad. But he is not available to us so I have to focus on those who can help us.”
Since making the step up from U21 manager to England captain in 2016, Southgate has worked hard to reshape the culture around the team and players often highlight how the 53-year-old has created a positive environment after years of negativity.
But Southgate said: “I have to respect it [Ben’s decision]. He is not the first player who has not wanted to be available for selection on certain occasions.
“So I’ve always tried to protect those players because I always want the door to be open, although many of those occasions I’m the one who gets it in the neck for not selecting them and people don’t know the reasons.
“But sometimes as a manager you have to take the hit for others and give them time to develop. Sometimes we have had young players who haven’t felt comfortable coming to England, when I was with the U21 team and then as they get older, they become more comfortable with it.
“So there could be all sorts of reasons for that. Like I said, I think we should respect that. I repeat: he clearly plays well and has done so for a long time, but he is not available.
“The very first squad I picked, I had a player who called and said ‘thanks but no’. You just have to move on. That’s the reality of this job. There are many things outside your control and you can’t always share the details of those things, but that’s the way it has to be.”
Southgate insisted White could still be selected for Euro 2024 but admitted it would not be easy.
“Coming into June now is clearly going to be difficult. Others have been in the squad and played regularly, so when you have a situation like that you always have to assess those who have been on the journey all the way. We’ve done that over the years in different situations.”
Southgate surprisingly chose to axe Kalvin Phillips, a player he had been loyal to during a difficult period outside the team in Cheap Manchester City football shirts.
Phillips left City for West Ham on loan in January in a bid to revive his fortunes, but he has had a difficult start to life in east London, including a red card against Nottingham Forest last month.
“I think he knows exactly what we think of him,” Southgate said of Phillips, who last missed out on a September 2022 squad when he withdrew through injury.
“I think we’ve shown that support. A good version of him is an important player for us. That’s why we’ve supported him the way we have.
“We don’t have many players with that profile. Unfortunately his form has not been good enough. I’ve spoken to him about it, he understands. He has all the qualities to come back and we are really keen for him to do that.
“But I said towards the end of last year when we picked the squad, that if he continued not to play at City it would be a problem. He just needs to find the rhythm and the confidence because there is an outstanding player in there. I am sure he will find it.”
Liverpool’s Gomez is recalled, Maguire and Rashford retain their places for England.
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