Ben White Returns to England Squad
Ben White has been recalled to the England squad for the upcoming Wembley friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, marking the end of his partly self-imposed absence from international duty. The Arsenal right-back had not featured for England since March 2022, when he left the 2022 World Cup camp in Qatar for personal reasons and subsequently made himself unavailable for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure.
Thomas Tuchel, England’s manager, had previously commented in March before naming his first squad that White "wants to be back," although he did not select him at that time as White was just returning from a serious knee injury.
Despite limited playing time at Arsenal this season, with only five Premier League starts, Tuchel has opted to include White following the withdrawal of Jarell Quansah due to injury. Quansah, a Bayer Leverkusen centre-half by trade, made his England debut at right-back in the most recent game.
Tuchel is currently without his first-choice right-back Reece James, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury, and has chosen not to recall Trent Alexander-Arnold from Real Madrid. Other options in the right-back position include Tino Livramento, who returns to the squad, and Djed Spence. White has earned four England caps, with his last appearance against Côte d’Ivoire in March 2022.
Harvey Barnes Called Up as Replacement
In addition to White, Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes has been called up to the England squad as a replacement for Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze, who withdrew due to a calf injury. Barnes is Newcastle’s second-highest scorer this season, having netted 14 goals across all competitions, three fewer than teammate Anthony Gordon.
Barnes has one England cap, earned as a substitute against Wales in October 2020 under Gareth Southgate. Notably, Scotland had expressed interest in including Barnes in their World Cup squad.
Upcoming Fixtures
England will host Uruguay on Friday, followed by a match against Japan on Tuesday, both fixtures taking place at Wembley Stadium.
Additional Information
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