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White makes England debut

Defender becomes fifth Albion player to win cap for Three Lions.

By Bruce Talbot • 02 June 2021

By www.twitter.com/England
Ben White comes on to make his England debut against Austria.

Defender Ben White joined the ranks of Albion's England internationals when he made his debut in Wednesday night's friendly against Austria.

White came on in the 71st minute to replace Jack Grealish and played in a defensive midfield role as England won 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.

The 23-year-old got forward shortly after coming on and wasn't far away with a shot from distance that went wide. Then in stoppage time he cleared a shot off the line to ensure England's narrow victory.

White got his first Three Lions call-up last month and although he was not included in the 26-man squad for the Euros when it was named on Tuesday, England coach Gareth Southgate put White on standby and in his squad for their two warm-up games.

They face Romania at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium on Sunday (5pm).

He became the fifth Albion player to represent England and the first since team-mate Lewis Dunk won his only cap so far in a friendly against United States in 2018. Albion's other England players are Steve Foster (3 caps), Peter Ward (1) and Tommy Cook (1).

England have won all seven games when an Albion player has been in their team.

England kick-off their Euros campaign against Croatia on 13 June.