England manager Gareth Southgate is expected to name Arsenal defender Ben White in his 26-man squad for the World Cup today.
The 25-year-old is set to replace Chelsea’s Reece James, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury.
Fans on Twitter are happy that White will be included in the squad but most feel that his selection shouldn’t have been in doubt anyway, considering his form this season:
Man has seen the White Light💡
— Owen Brear ‘OB’ (@OwenBrear) November 9, 2022
He should be the first choice for a defender in the England squad. Not the first reserve.
— Tamir Avner (@TArsenalBulls7) November 9, 2022
What? BW is the first defender who should’ve been called for this team
— Raul (@RaulandThunder) November 9, 2022
Should be there anyway lol
— Artetasexual (@Artetasexual1) November 9, 2022
He would be dumb not to.
— Nna Mmadu👨🏾🍼 (@_IKENNA_) November 9, 2022
He should already be on there regardless
— Thurston Le Bruh (@ThurstonLeBr) November 9, 2022
How he isn’t automatically in the squad regardless I’ll never understood, he just ignores merit so often
— PauloAFC (@AfcPaulo) November 9, 2022
White has been outstanding for the Gunners despite being selected as a fullback since the start of the season. However, the sheer number of options that Southgate has at his disposal on the right flank meant he was never guaranteed a place on the flight out to Qatar.
Considering that England may play three at the back, there is a good chance that White will start in a right-sided centre-back role if he is chosen to play but it remains to be seen how Southgate will choose to deploy him.
