Tuchel dismisses fears Ben White could walk away from England after Croatia boos

Thomas Tuchel has rejected suggestions that Ben White’s reception from England supporters could lead to the Arsenal defender stepping away from international football again.

White was booed by sections of the crowd after coming on as a substitute during England’s 2-1 win over Croatia in the Nations League on Thursday. The result confirmed England’s place in the quarter-finals and kept alive their hopes of finishing top of Group A, Level Three, ahead of Sunday’s trip to face leaders Spain.

Tuchel said he was disappointed by the reaction and hoped White could be allowed to move on from the controversy surrounding his previous England absence.

When Tuchel was told that Croatia substitute Luka Modric had received a warmer welcome than White, he replied with a laugh: “I didn’t hear the boos, honestly.”

He added: “I heard the applause for Luka Modric, and that’s nice because he deserves it. He’s a legend in football. But honestly, I didn’t hear the boos for Ben White. I thought we had moved on from that page.”

Tuchel said he hoped the incident would not be repeated, insisting White had given him no reason to question his commitment since he became England manager.

“I hope it doesn’t happen again. He is one of our players,” said the German. “Since I took over, he has been very eager to join us and be with the group. He has done nothing wrong since I became responsible for the national team.

“I can only judge him on what I see and what I have experienced myself. What I have seen from him has been top level, and he can really help us win football matches.

“As I said, he is part of our group, and we will protect our group and make sure it is protected. He deserves to be with us. Yes, I hope we can open a new page for him.”

White, 29, said earlier this week that supporters would not have treated him in the same way if they knew the full story behind his decision not to make himself available for England under Gareth Southgate. He left the squad during the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for what he described as “personal” reasons.

Reports have indicated that White had fallen out with former assistant manager Steve Holland. He did not return to the England squad until Tuchel selected him in March, when he was booed by supporters, before an injury ruled him out of the World Cup.

The boos on Thursday were less intense than those heard during England’s friendly matches in March, and Tuchel does not expect the reaction to make White withdraw from international football again.

“I don’t think so. I don’t want to give it more importance than it deserves,” he said. “He has always seemed committed, dedicated and excited to join the camp and receive the call-up.

“He has suffered more injuries than he should have. He is a player of very high quality and, honestly, I don’t even know what happened or the deeper reasons behind the situation in which he left the camp.

“Since I took over, there is no reason to question Ben White’s commitment or passion. I don’t want to think about those extreme possibilities at the moment.”

Tuchel said England had simply delivered the result they needed against Croatia.

“Things cannot always be brilliant and hugely exciting,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to be serious and determined. We got the job done. We wanted to win, and we got what we wanted.”