Leeds United defender, Luke Ayling, wrote ‘what a sight’ on his Instagram story as Ben White made his debut for England on Wednesday night as the Three Lions beat Austria 1-0 in a friendly at the Riverside Stadium.
This time last summer, White was winning promotion to the Premier League with Leeds, and now he’s on one of the biggest stages of them all with his country.
And it was a positive debut from the ball-playing centre-half, who was brought on in the second half by his manager Gareth Southgate.
Even though the Brighton man spent little time on the field, he had enough time to clear the ball off the line after Jordan Pickford’s punch, following a cross, fell into the path of Austrian feet.
In the end, England recorded a hard-working 1-0 win in the first of two friendly games before the Euros kick off later on this month.
Unfortunately for White, he won’t be part of that touring party that will be taking part in the Euros, after he didn’t make Southgate’s 26-man cut.
But it’s still good news for the Leeds favourite and thriving Brighton star, who is well aware that he’s not far off the England centre-back pecking order.
He may not be taking part in Euro 2020, but there’s no reason why he cannot book his ticket for next year’s World Cup.
And Leeds fans may get to see a familiar sight once again in Phillips and White linking up whilst donning the colours of their country.
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