Ben White has been brought into the England squad for the first time since he left the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for personal reasons.
The Arsenal right-back has been called into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad after Jarell Quansah had to pull out with a left thigh muscle injury on Sunday.
White won four England caps under Gareth Southgate and was part of the squad for the Qatar World Cup. But he flew home the day after England’s 3-0 win over Wales and has not played for the national team since.
In March 2024, Southgate revealed that Edu — then Arsenal sporting director — had called him and FA technical director John McDermott and revealed that White “did not want to be considered for England squads at this time”. This ruled White out of an international return ahead of the 2024 European Championship, Southgate’s last tournament in charge.
When Tuchel named his first squad in March 2025 he said that he had spoken to White, and that the defender would have loved to return to international football, effectively ending his exile from the England team. But White was not involved in any of the England squads last year.
With Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier retired from international football, Reece James injured and Trent Alexander-Arnold not selected, there is an open competition at right-back ahead of this summer’s World Cup. Quansah’s injury leaves Djed Spence and Tino Livramento as the two right-backs, players White will be competing with ahead of Friday’s friendly with Uruguay.
The 28-year-old has made 21 appearances for Arsenal this season, having sustained multiple injury problems over the last 18 months including a hamstring issue in December.
Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes’ selection has also been confirmed after Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze pulled out with an injury.
White’s season so far
Analysis by Arsenal correspondent Art de Roche
Ben White’s season has been mixed, but mostly due to injuries rather than performances.
The right-back was one of Arsenal’s best players in pre-season and started their opening day win over Manchester United, but missed their next two league games with a knock and was an unused substitute for the next 11.
Despite a subpar performance in the Carabao Cup final, the 28-year-old has mostly impressed when called upon this season. A more traditional full-back, his overlapping runs help add more threat to Arsenal’s attacks compared to Jurrien Timber’s runs inside the pitch.
A standout example of this came in December, when a nice interchange with England team-mate Noni Madueke led to Arsenal’s opening goal against Brentford. White already having existing connections with Madueke and Bukayo Saka could be helpful for Thomas Tuchel.
From a fitness perspective, the Carabao Cup final was White’s second start in a month after picking up a knock against Wigan Athletic in February. He also suffered a minor hamstring injury in December after an overload of minutes (four starts in 10 days), so managing his exposure during this break will still be important.
As it is his first call-up since the 2022 World Cup, though, White will surely relish the opportunity to be back in the national team setup.
