A fresh theory has surfaced regarding Ben White's notorious England fallout. The Arsenal defender returned to the Three Lions setup for the first time under Thomas Tuchel this month. White was selected as an injury replacement for Jarell Quansah. He was jeered by large sections of England supporters after appearing as a substitute against Uruguay to end his international exile on Friday.
The 28-year-old appeared to have netted a late winner for Tuchel's side before conceding a penalty that ensured the match finished 1-1. However, speculation continues over the cause of his earlier dispute during Gareth Southgate's tenure. The Arsenal star left the World Cup squad in 2022 due to personal reasons. While there have been ongoing rumours of a row with England's coaching staff, a new explanation for his absence has surfaced.
"This is what I'm led to understand has happened with Ben White," broadcaster Adrian Durham said on talkSPORT. "The players were told to watch videos of opponents and they were given videos on their laptops, iPads, whatever it was.
"He decided not to and the England analysts knew, because they had the tech, who had and who hadn't watched the videos. When asked about it, Ben White got really upset about it to the point where he quit England.
"If that is true, why on earth would Thomas Tuchel want him back in the squad when he's not prepared to put the hard yards in to be as good as he possibly can against the opponents England are up against. If it's not true, I apologise, but let's have the flipping truth."
White was jeered at several points during his performance against Uruguay, including when he was announced as the team's goalscorer. England manager Tuchel confessed to being disheartened by the crowd's response to the adaptable defender.
Nevertheless, he could still feature in England's forthcoming match against Japan on Tuesday. The Three Lions are planning to rotate their squad and Tuchel has conceded White is in his thoughts.
"He has our support and I think he feels our support and the support from the group," Tuchel said of White being booed. "I understand that it happened to some other players already and hopefully we got it out of our system and if he plays tomorrow, there's a chance - because it would make sense to play a lot of players who have fresh legs and didn't start the first match.
"He is one of them – and if he has a good training session he's in the mix. I'm not involved in all the meetings and talks that go on without the coach and I was in a lot of meetings looking at Japan and stuff. So I am not fully aware but I think so – that's my guess. He was good, again good in training and good in the group."