England Star Lost Entire International Career After Refusing to Play
An England star once saw his international career collapse after refusing a call up, as Thomas Tuchel prepares to announce his latest squad.
The England boss will confirm his squad on Friday, with Jude Bellingham expected to return following his omission from the October fixtures.
The Three Lions have already secured qualification for next summer's World Cup, but the upcoming qualifiers against Serbia and Albania will still be important for Tuchel, as he shapes his squad for the tournament.
One player who will not be included is Arsenal right-back Ben White, who has not featured for England since he left the World Cup in 2022 for 'personal reasons'.
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The 28-year-old subsequently made himself unavailable for the remainder of Gareth Southgate's time in charge.
Despite Tuchel's appointment earlier this year, White has not returned to the international setup, and is now struggling for game time at Arsenal.
However, White is not the first player to turn down the opportunity to represent England, with former striker Chris Sutton doing the same back in 1998.
Sutton earned his first and only cap in a friendly against Cameroon in November 1997, coming off the bench for 11 minutes.
He believed he deserved a place in the senior squad the following year, but was instead called up to the England B team - which he did not take well.
Speaking on Football Focus in 2024, Sutton said: “I was an idiot, I refused to play for the England B squad.
“I actually made my one England cap against Cameroon in the November of the season I won the Golden Boot.
“My form was good and I understood there was a lot of good strikers around at that particular time but there were a few injuries.
“I thought Glenn Hoddle should have picked me. He didn’t, he put me in the B squad.
“So I told him where to go and, do you know what, it’s my biggest regret.
"It really is. I was an idiot to do that and at the end of my career, I looked back and (thought) ‘how stupid was I?"
It was not the first time Sutton expressed regret over that decision.
Despite scoring 83 Premier League goals and winning the title with Blackburn Rovers, he never added to that one England appearance.
He told the Daily Mail in 2000: "Yes, I made a rash decision with England, well, a little bit of a rash decision.
"I don't know if it was held against me when Sven Goran Eriksson was manager.
"I went to Celtic and had five good years there, playing some good football and never got a look-in.
"Let's be realistic, I wouldn't have played that often because there were players ahead of me in the pecking order.
"But that decision back then? Yes, it was a bit impetuous."
Topics: England, Thomas Tuchel, Ben White, Football, Premier League
James Taylor