England manager Thomas Tuchel has explained why he left Arsenal defender Ben White out of his latest Three Lions squad.
Tuchel's reign started with a couple of comfortable victories in March, and England are set to play two more fixtures in June before the Club World Cup. They face Andorra away from home in their third 2026 World Cup qualifier on 7 June before hosting Senegal in a friendly three days later.
The German announced his squad before the conclusion of the 2024/25 Premier League season, and there is Arsenal representation via Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka. However, White has been left out despite declaring his availability for the national team.
Why Thomas Tuchel left Ben White out of latest England squad
Ben White
White underwent knee surgery last November, | Mike Hewitt/GettyImages
White hasn't played for England since he left camp early at the 2022 World Cup, with reports suggesting that he'd fallen out with Steve Holland, Gareth Southgate's assistant.
Before the start of his tenure, Tuchel said he'd "reach out" to White to discuss his recent absence from the national team, and the Arsenal man recently described the new England boss as "such a nice, nice man." The door has been opened for White to return to the Three Lions set-up, but he'd just returned from injury in March, and Tuchel opted against picking him for their June fixtures.
Explaining the decision, Tuchel said (via now.arsenal): βHe made very strong progress. We had a talk and we decided that at the moment this is not the moment - because he will become a father very soon. The baby is due during the camp. We wish him all the best for that.β
The defender missed a chunk of the 2024/25 season after undergoing knee surgery and only appeared sporadically for the Gunners once he returned to action. White certainly looked rusty down the stretch, but looked a little more like his usual self on the final day of the season at Southampton. The right-back reached the byline on the overlap and crossed for Kieran Tierney to open the scoring.
While he's yet to return to the England squad, White is certainly on Tuchel's radar. A full pre-season will work wonders for the 27-year-old, and he'll aim to be a part of the hectic international schedule in the autumn. After failing to feature in Qatar, White must be desperate to play at the 2026 World Cup β even if he doesn't like the sport all that much!
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