Ben White's England phone call that made him cry and Lee Carsley on selection U-turn
Ben White looks no closer to returning to England duty despite the end of Gareth Southgate's eight-year reign.
White left the England squad mid-tournament at the Qatar World Cup for 'personal reasons', with suggestions it was related to a comment from assistant manager Steve Holland. The Arsenal defender then made himself unavailable for international duty in March.
There had been an expectation the departure of Southgate and Holland would open the door for the 26-year-old to return to the set-up. However, interim boss Lee Carsley’s much-changed squad for the matches against Ireland and Finland in the Nations League did not include White, who is believed to be open to playing for his country again.
Carsley is aware of reports of White's willingness to return to the fold but his status remains unchanged officially. The former under-21 boss said: “As far as I’m aware, he wasn’t available for selection and nothing has changed in my two weeks of being here.
“That is where I am at. I have seen in some of the press reports he was open to it but it has gone no further. As far as I’m aware, there has been no change there.
“Any player that’s playing well in the Premier League, that’s playing week in, week out, especially at the level that Arsenal play at, is obviously going to be under consideration. But he wasn’t one based on what his wishes from the past [were].”
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Despite his stance during Southgate's tenure, playing for his country does appear to mean a great deal to White, who wept tears of joy after securing a late call-up for the delayed Euro 2020. He told Sky Sports at the time: "I got a phone call, got told the news. I was out for dinner, I didn't really believe it!
"Yeah, I just sat and cried for about an hour. I couldn't really believe it and I don't think it's settled in yet. I didn't really think that I would be called.
"I thought it was a bit too late because I've heard you get called way before it. But I obviously didn't and when that call did come I was over the moon with it and shocked."
Though White played in warm-up matches, he didn't figure during Euro 2020 which culminated in England's penalty shoot-out loss to Italy in the final. His last appearance for England was in March 2022 against Ivory Coast.