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England boss Thomas Tuchel disappointed after supporters boo Ben White

AF

AFP

Published 3 months ago

Thomas Tuchel admitted he was disappointed after England fans booed Ben White on his return from a self-imposed international exile in Friday's 1-1 friendly draw against Uruguay.

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/white-ben/pvGdJANj/"]White[/a] endured a hostile reception when he came off the bench for an eventful second-half appearance at Wembley.[/p][p]The 28-year-old scored [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a]'s 81st-minute opener with a tap-in, then conceded the stoppage-time penalty that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/valverde-federico/nscfER6B/"]Federico Valverde[/a] converted to salvage a draw for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uruguay/xMk44orG/"]Uruguay[/a].[/p][p]Playing his first game for England since the 2022 World Cup, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] right-back was loudly jeered when his name was announced over the tannoy after his maiden senior international goal.[/p][embed guid="83ee5009-2b93-452c-baca-76e2d60fe6ad" url="https://x.com/TomCantonMedia/status/2037645490452377850?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]White left the World Cup in Qatar four years ago during the knockout phase due to what the Football Association called "personal reasons".[/b][/p][p]Reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with England assistant Steve Holland, something repeatedly denied by then manager Gareth Southgate, who revealed in 2024 that White had made himself unavailable for England.[/p][p]Finally recalled to the international fold, White found England supporters were not in a forgiving mood during his chaotic cameo.[/p][p][b]"This happened before to some players here, which is disappointing because I don't think it helps anyone. There was a mixed reaction," [/b]Tuchel said.[/p][p][b]"It was too good to be true when he scored the 'winner', which in the end was not a winner.[/b][/p][p][b]"In the end, he was perhaps too greedy in his defensive actions, but it was not a penalty."[/b][/p][embed guid="f0895a3c-828e-43c3-8a46-c820595875ee" url="https://x.com/itvfootball/status/2037649012543692876?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]England centre-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maguire-harry/xG8v3YRA/"]Harry Maguire[/a], making his first international appearance for 18 months, also came to White's defence.[/p][p][b]"A bit crazy, scoring the first goal. I thought he was brilliant when he came on,"[/b] Maguire said.[/p][p][b]"He's been good all week, a big smile on his face and he's brought great energy to the camp. He got his rewards tonight with the goal, and I thought he was brilliant when he came on.[/b][/p][p]"It's a ridiculous penalty. It's soft. He's kicked the ball over the bar. Ben just goes to try to block the shot.[/p][p][b]"It's not a bad tackle, it's not malicious. It's part and parcel of defending in the box. There is going to be contact."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/england-j9N9ZNFA/uruguay-xMk44orG/?mid=IHvvmo8M"]Catch up on England's match here.[/a][/p]

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