England players will ‘always support’ Ben White after Wembley jeers, says Henderson

Jordan Henderson says he and his fellow England players “are always there to support” Ben White, after the defender was booed by a section of fans upon his return to the national team.

White took to the field with just over 20 minutes remaining in the Three Lions’ friendly against Uruguay at Wembley on Friday, before opening the scoring and then conceding a penalty in a 1-1 draw.

However, jeers could be heard from some of the home fans as the Arsenal defender was introduced. He was playing in his first international match since leaving the 2022 World Cup squad for personal reasons and subsequently “didn’t want to be considered” for an international call-up for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as manager.

England players will ‘support’ White

Henderson said he could sympathise with White and added that fans and the press did not know the full story of what happened in Qatar four years ago.

“As teammates we are always there to support,” said Henderson, who was booed by England fans after his controversial move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq.

“I have been through it myself, but that is part and parcel of being an England player.

“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 teammates.”

The Brentford midfielder, who has 89 caps to his name, urged White to “try not to take it too personally”, adding that “the media can spin things in certain ways, which isn’t always the truth and then fans can pick up on that and think it is the truth.

Henderson added: “It is really difficult when that happens, so it is important for us to make sure he is OK, which I am sure he is. I was delighted he got on and got a goal, which is the most important thing.”

Tuchel: Defender must ‘clear the air’

White received a call-up from new England boss Thomas Tuchel following an injury to Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah.

Tuchel, however, insisted White, who has not spoken publicly about his decision to rule himself out of selection, must “clear the air” with his England teammates and said it was “necessary” for him to explain his reasons those members of the squad who were in Qatar.

“I think everyone deserves a second chance,” said Tuchel.

“I don’t know exactly what happened [in Qatar]. I was not 100% interested in that as I wanted to open a new page.

“Once I asked Ben if he would be ready to play for me and for England he straight away, and without hesitation, said he would love that and he was desperate to come back.

“I think it’s necessary he clears the air with teammates and I think he will when players come back, who were in the World Cup with him.”

England return to Wembley on Tuesday when they face Japan, who were the first team to qualify for the World Cup finals this summer.

The US, Mexico and Canada received automatic qualification as co-hosts.