Southgate explains not picking White and Sterling for England squad

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England boss Gareth Southgate has explained the reason behind two of the absentees from his latest squad. Arsenal star Ben White and Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling were both left out for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.

England play Italy in Naples next Thursday before Ukraine visit Wembley the following Sunday. It is the first time the squad have got together since they crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage to France in December.

Sterling has been a regular for Southgate during his tenure as manager. But he revealed the 28-year-old is not fit and therefore was not available for selection.

White, meanwhile, misses out due to three other right-backs being selected ahead of him. He has had a fine season for Premier League leaders Arsenal and was rewarded with a call-up to the squad in Qatar.

However, he left the tournament early due to personal reasons. Reports afterwards claimed the former Brighton defender had a disagreement with assistant coach Steve Holland.

But Southgate has hinted his decision to leave out the 25-year-old is due to football reasons. Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James were all included in the squad, with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold missing out alongside White.

Asked why the Sterling and White in particular weren’t in the squad, Southgate said: “Yeah well Raheem’s not fit, so that’s that one. Yeah [I would have picked him if fit] absolutely.

“With Ben, it’s similar with Ben and Trent really. The three boys that are in as right full-backs, we’ve got them as just ahead of those two. We are blessed in that position with the depth of talent.

“It’s the hardest position to pick, albeit it’s never straightforward criteria and it’s always shifting around a little bit on form as well. Kyle and Tripps are obviously the ones that played during the World Cup, started the games during the World Cup, have been consistent.

“And Reece coming back is another top player. So yeah we’d love to have that depth in every position on the field really.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was asked about the possibility of White being called up by England on Wednesday. The Spaniard insisted he was available to Southgate.

Arteta said: “He’s available for us so for sure, he will be available for the England squad. As far as I’m concerned, he’s been in really good form, he’s been available for every single match and he’s been performing really well for us.”

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