Fuss about players

England team boss: “It’s a great shame!”

England team boss Gareth Southgate(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

When nominating the squad for the England national team, team boss Gareth Southgate experiences a nasty surprise: Arsenal star Ben White does not want to play for the "Three Lions". Inexplicable for the coach: "It's a great shame for me. He's a player I really like."

England are preparing for the EURO in March with test matches against Brazil (23.3, 8pm) and Belgium (26.3, 8.45pm). White is playing an important role at Arsenal this year and has repeatedly put in strong performances on the right side of defense. Reason enough to play for England, but the player declined the nomination.

Southgate: "Have to accept that"
"We received a call from Edu (Arsenal's technical director, ed.) last week saying that Ben doesn't want to be considered for the England squad at this stage," said Southgate. He does not know "why that is, but I have to respect that".

White extended his contract at Arsenal on Thursday until the summer of 2028 and was runner-up with England in the 2021 European Championship. The defender was also part of the squad for the 2022 World Cup, but left the camp before the start of the tournament for personal reasons.

Dispute with assistant coach?
Southgate denied that there was a rift between White and assistant coach Steve Holland: "There is no problem between us at all and there was never a problem with Steve Holland. It's been mentioned in articles and I don't like it." With regard to the European Championship, however, he will "keep the door open" for White.