Gareth Southgate claims the door is still open for Ben White to play for England at Euro 2024, but it’s up to the player now.

Ben White was absent from the England camp over the international break, with Gareth Southgate suggesting he would have liked to call up the defender but White wasn’t willing to accept the call.

That led many to assume that White won’t be involved with England at the European Championships this summer, but Southgate isn’t ruling that out just yet.

“It’s really for Ben now,” Southgate said. “As I’ve said, the door is open for us. That’s clearly difficult ahead of the Euros, when [he’s] missed all of the qualifying campaign and you’ve got players that have played all the way through.

“But we have no idea of knowing who’s going to be available in that area of the pitch. We’ve lost four to injury this camp. So, as I said, for me, it’s open. I have absolutely no issue.”

Based on those quotes, it sounds as though White is unlikely to be called up if Southgate’s usual first-choice right-backs are available.

But if one or two of them miss the tournament through injury, the door would be open to White, if he’s willing.

Back in 2021, when White was first called up, he spoke of the emotional impact of the call.

“I got told the news [when] I was out for dinner,” White said then. “I didn’t really believe it!

“It was obviously unbelievable. [I] put the phone down, rang my mum straight away, sat down there, cried, mum was crying, my dad.

“I just sat and cried for about an hour, couldn’t really believe it and I don’t think it’s settled in yet.”

But those feelings appeared to fade when he was confronted with the realities of attending two major tournaments with England.

The Athletic report that White found it difficult being out of the team. At Euro 2020, the defender was technically in the squad, but he only made the bench twice in seven games. He was fit, he was just completely left out five times in seven matches.

Then at the World Cup, White was on the bench against Iran and the USA, but he still didn’t get any minutes. In the time between those two tournaments, he played just 135 minutes of football for England.

Despite Southgate’s claims that Steve Holland has nothing to do with White’s situation, The Athletic add that White did have a row with the assistant manager during the World Cup camp a week before he pulled out of the squad.

Whatever the reasons behind the decision, White remains out of the England squad for the time being.