Ben White allegedly involved in England bust-up.
Ben White left the England World Cup camp due to a bust-up with Gareth Southgate’s assistant manager Steve Holland, according to a report on Friday morning.
It was announced on November 30th that White had left Qatar due to “personal reasons,” having not played a minute of England’s group matches.
Ben White clashes with England assistant.
It had previously been stated that he was missing from the clash with Wales on November 29th due to illness, but it is now being reported that his departure stems from a clash with Holland in the build-up to England’s game against USA on November 25th.
The Daily Star reports that Holland and White exchanged words in a meeting ahead of the match, in front of the rest of the England squad, after the 25-year-old didn’t know some vital information regarding his personal stats.
Additionally, Holland was reportedly unimpressed with White’s lack of knowledge of the USA team. It is also stated that White was unhappy in the camp in Qatar and struggled to mix with his teammates.
Raheem Sterling departure.
Friday’s report is the first to mention a reason for White’s departure, which is in contrast to Raheem Sterling’s exit last Sunday.
After England’s round-of-16 victory over Senegal, it was made public that Sterling returned to England after a break-in at his home, with Southgate saying that the Chelsea forward “will be allowed as much time as he needs.”
Sterling is making the trip back to Qatar for Saturday’s quarter-final with France, while White is not expected to return to the camp.
World Cup back-up.
White was brought to the World Cup as back up to centre-backs Harry Maguire and John Stones, although he has impressed at right-back for Premier League leaders Arsenal this season.
The World Cup is the second major tournament squad that the former Brighton defender has been involved in, after he was also unused at Euro 2020 during England’s run to the final last summer.
Despite his obvious talents, White has previously stated that his family were never into football, and he doesn’t watch much of the sport to this day.
“I didn’t ever watch football when I was younger. I still don’t now. I just love the game, I was always playing it so I don’t know too much about older generations,” he told Sky Sports last year.
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