Ben White’s teammates & manager address England boos | OneFootball

Jordan Henderson, Thomas Tuchel, and Harry Maguire have all spoken out on Ben White’s return to the England team and the reaction from the home support.

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Ben White made his long-awaited return to the England national team on Friday, coming off the bench as a substitute for a friendly match against Uruguay.

Despite playing less than half an hour of the match, it was an action-packed spell for the Arsenal man. He scored the opening goal of the game by turning home from close range after a set-piece in the 81st minute, with the England fans booing his name despite the goal.

White then conceded a penalty after catching Federico Vinas as both players tried to win an aerial ball in the 93rd minute. Uruguay converted the spot-kick to end the match 1-1.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

Speaking after the match about the England fan response, manager Thomas Tuchel said: “I heard that he was booed. I didn’t hear it actually because I was involved in the changes and instructions.

“It cannot be the majority. There were some boos and some mixed reception for him which I’m disappointed about because of course we protect our players.

“He was excellent in camp and he deserved to come on. He deserved also to start. Got us almost a winner.

“Hopefully we can put it behind because he’s ready to write some new chapters and we’re ready to give him the chance.”

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Jordan Henderson also gave his take on the boos, saying: “As team-mates we are always there to support.

“Some of the fans probably don’t even know why they are booing, they listen to what is being said in the media, and a lot of the time what the media says isn’t true.

“Not many people know the ins and outs of what happened in Qatar and it is for us to deal with internally. Ben has been good since he came back in and we will support him as team-mates.”

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Harry Maguire’s assessment of the appearance focused more on White’s actual performance, as he told the media: “Crazy scoring the first goal. I thought he was brilliant when he came on.

“I can’t say anything about the defending for that one [the penalty] – if that was me I’d be trying to block the shot. He’s been good all week in training, great energy in the camp and he got his rewards tonight with the goal. He was brilliant when he came on.”

It remains to be seen whether White has any part to play in England’s second friendly match against Japan in midweek, but he’s arguably already been involved in enough drama for one international break.