Gareth Southgate has revealed in-form Arsenal defender Ben White does not want to be selected by England at the moment.
The 26-year-old has starred for the Premier League leaders this season but has not featured in the national team squad since the 2022 World Cup.
White returned early from Qatar for what the Football Association called “personal reasons” and reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with England assistant Steve Holland.
Southgate denied any such fall-out on Thursday, when he had hoped to include the defender in his squad for March’s Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
“Look, it’s absolutely the question you should ask because clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in,” the England boss said.
“We, (FA technical director) John McDermott, had a call from (Arsenal sporting director) Edu last week to say that Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time.
“For me, that’s a great shame. He’s a player I really like. He’s a player that we took to a Euros when he was at Brighton, a player that we took to the World Cup.
“I spoke to him post-Qatar because I was keen to pick him and there was clearly reticence on his side. I don’t know fully why that is, but I have to respect that.
“I want to leave the door open for him because he’s a good player and I think he’s a player who can make a difference for England.
“But he’s not available to us and so the only other thing I would say is there is no issue between us at all.
“And also I should say there’s never any issue with Steve Holland because that has sort of been mentioned in articles and I don’t like that.
“People can talk about me, and I have to accept that things get said that are false about me. For whatever reason in this role, you have to almost stomach that.
“But I’m not prepared for that to happen for a key member of my coaching team because that is not the reason Ben is unavailable for selection.”
Southgate handed White his England debut against Austria in June 2021, then drafted him into the squad for that summer’s rearranged Euros as replacement for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The defender did not make an appearance in the run to the final, nor did he play a minute at the World Cup in Qatar.
The bombshell news that White does not want to add to his four England caps came hours after the announcement that he had signed a new and improved contract at the Emirates Stadium.
The 26-year-old agreed a new four-year deal, with the option for a further 12 months, the PA news agency understands, having featured in every Premier League game this term.
White says it is “unbelievable” to have found his home at Arsenal but clearly does not feel as comfortable wearing an England shirt.
“I have to respect it,” Southgate said of the decision. “Look, he’s not the first player that at certain times hasn’t wanted to be available for selection.
“So, I’ve always tried to protect those players because I always want the door to be left open, even though on lots of those occasions I’m the one that gets it in the neck for not picking them and people don’t know the reasons.
“But sometimes as a leader, you have to take the flak for others and allow them time to come through.
“Sometimes we’ve had young players that haven’t felt comfortable coming away with England, when I was with the Under-21s and then as they get older, they get more comfortable with it. So there can be all sorts of reasons for that.
“As I said, I think we should respect that. I repeat: he’s clearly playing very well and has been for a long time but he’s not available.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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