Gareth Southgate has drafted Brighton defender Ben White into England’s 26-man squad for Euro 2020 in place of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The 23-year-old was a surprise inclusion in Southgate’s provisional 33-man squad but impressed in both of England’s warm-up games against Austria, where he played as a holding midfielder after coming off the bench, and against Romania in his more natural position of central defence.
That versatility is likely to have counted in White’s favour as is the fact he is accustomed to playing in a three-man defence having done so for the majority of last season for his club.
Southgate picked only four specialist central defenders in his original squad – John Stones, Harry Maguire, Conor Coady and Tyrone Mings – and has concerns over Maguire who has been sidelined for the past month with an ankle injury sustained while playing for Manchester United.
White was one of five players on England’s standby list and has been picked ahead of James Ward-Prowse, Jesse Lingard, Ben Godfrey and Ollie Watkins.
Ward-Prowse, in particular, might have felt that he had done enough to warrant inclusion with an impressive performance against Romania, however, Southgate hinted before the game that he had already made his decision.
An England statement on Monday morning read: “Having made his England debut against Austria in Middlesbrough last Wednesday, White further impressed on his first start for the Three Lions as he played the duration of Sunday’s win against Romania back at the Riverside Stadium.
“It is just reward for the Dorset-born defender, who capped his first full campaign in the Premier League by being named Brighton’s men’s player of the season over the weekend.
“Gareth Southgate’s squad will continue their tournament preparation at St George’s Park this week ahead of the Group D opener against Croatia at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.”
White will wear the No 22 shirt that had originally been selected for Alexander-Arnold.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3x1Kpnp
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