White not picked for family reasons, says Tuchel

England manager Thomas Tuchel says he did not pick Arsenal defender Ben White for his latest squad because the right-back is about to become a father for the first time.

Tuchel also confirmed that Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi has an injury, after naming his squad to face Andorra and Senegal.

Thomas Tuchel’s #ThreeLions squad for June is here! 👀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

— England (@England) May 23, 2025

White won the most recent of his four England caps in 2022 and came home early from that year’s World Cup before making himself unavailable for selection.

But Tuchel has confirmed that he is now available to be picked.

He said: “Ben was involved in the latest matches of Arsenal but we had a talk and decided now is not the moment because he will become a father very soon, the baby is due right on the exact date of the camp. It is his first child and we wish him and his wife all the best.

“We thought if he comes back it should be with a clear mind and full focus on football which is now not the case. We decided together this is not the camp for him to come back.

“The second reason is although he played lately I think he can still have 10-15% increase in the physical ability. Given all the circumstances we decided that he is not with us.

“100% he was ready to be selected now but the main was because of family.”

Tuchel’s Three Lions face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on 7 June and play Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground three days later.

The newly expanded Club World Cup begins on 14 June and Tuchel says he decided not to give any players competing in that tournament an early cut.

He said: “We will start the camp with 26 players and finish with the same 26 as well.

“He deserves the call-up and maybe he gets his first cap.” 💪

TT’s praise for @TrevohChalobah 💫 pic.twitter.com/6GORaLg3qM

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“I was an advocate and I could see the reason for the players who go to the Club World Cup to maybe leave a little earlier, to maybe change the squad. We had discussions if maybe we chose a squad without Club World Cup players.

“The discussion was very open. Very quickly we also understood this is a very important camp for us with one year to go until the Word Cup. Why send players if we want to cherish every day we have together. What signal would it send to the group to send players away?

“I can understand the argument from especially the clubs who would love to see the players get a rest but we have a strong argument for ourselves and our goals we want to reach. We are building a group and a togetherness. We want to develop a camaraderie and it is only possible if we take every day seriously.

“We will try to manage the minutes of the players of course.”