It was always going to be a strange reintroduction to international football for Ben White.
This was his first England game for four years, and more to the point, his first since he flew home from the Qatar World Cup. He declined the opportunity to be picked in the lead-up to Euro 2024.
These are unusual circumstances for any England player, and it was never going to be simple or smooth to reintegrate. White and Thomas Tuchel must have known this and planned for it. And yet even they might not have predicted the full emotional rollercoaster that White was put through during his substitute appearance at Wembley, his fifth England cap, four years after his fourth one.
This unusual game — an open audition for England’s fringe players — was spluttering out when White came on as one of four England substitutes with 21 minutes left. But White’s big introduction, coming on at centre-back for Fikayo Tomori, was met with clear, audible boos from sections of the Wembley crowd.
Maybe this should not have been a surprise. The occasional booing of famous England players has been an integral part of the Wembley experience over the years, almost as commonplace as paper aeroplanes.
Even some of England’s best and most important players of the 21st century have found themselves on the wrong side of it. It happened, at various times and for various reasons, to Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson. If you have an international career that long, the chances are it will come for you.
There is an obvious difference between White and those other big names. With some of those it felt as if they were being booed for being picked too many times for England. In White’s case he is being booed for the opposite reason, for having been unavailable for selection for so long. But the point is still the same: this can be a fickle crowd, one that is not averse to turning on an England player, especially one who plays for a big club. And it generally does not last for long.
Just 12 minutes after that unusual reintroduction, White found himself in the spotlight again. There were nine minutes left when Cole Palmer curled in a corner and Harvey Barnes flicked it on at the near post. The ball was going in but White made sure of it at the far post. His first England goal, to the obvious delight of Tuchel.
Ben White prods in his first England goal (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Under normal circumstances this would be one of the most unambiguously happy moments of a player’s career. But the announcement that it was White who scored only led to another round of boos, louder than the first.
There was one more twist to come in added time. England were holding onto their 1-0 lead when White stuck out a foot to challenge Federico Vinas. After a lengthy delay, VAR intervened, the penalty was awarded and Federico Valverde made it 1-1.
White was not even in the England squad that Tuchel named at Wembley one week ago. He was only brought into the group because of an injury to Jarell Quansah. There are clearly a few players ahead of him in the pecking order at right-back, especially if Reece James gets fit before the World Cup.
And yet White has ended up being the central character of the first week of England’s last camp before the summer. It remains to be seen whether he will be retained for the Japan friendly on Tuesday. But Tuchel has spoken so warmly about him this week — and did so again after this game — that it feels like he may have a chance.
When Tuchel sat down to deliver his press conference late on Friday, he said he was “disappointed” by the booing (which he did not hear), but described it as a “mixed reception” rather than reflecting the majority of fans. He went out of his way to praise White’s attitude this week and pointed to the long history of England players being booed here.
“I also understood it happened to other players before here, and so he needs to take it on the chin,” Tuchel said. “We will always protect him, and hopefully we can put it behind him. Because he’s ready to write some new chapters, and we are ready to give him the chance. Hopefully everyone can move on and accept it.”
Tuchel spoke on Thursday about how White has already started to “clear the air” with some of his England team-mates about the events of 2022, his departure from Qatar and absence from the team. Tonight’s boos tell us that some of the public still have strong views on all that.
If White is to get the England-supporting public onside — and assuming he still does not want to talk about this subject in detail himself — the only way to do that is on the pitch. He will have to secure a place in Tuchel’s squad, but as a right-back who can operate at centre-back and who plays for a top team, he has a good chance. If he can contribute to this group, as a player and as a team-mate, at this summer’s World Cup and beyond, there is no reason he cannot win the fans back around — just as so many other England players have done before him.
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