Declan Rice has defended Arsenal team-mate Ben White after the defender was booed by England fans, saying supporters would stop if they knew the real person.
White was jeered by the Wembley crowd when he came on as a substitute against Croatia, with some fans yet to forgive him for leaving the 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar.
The defender spoke last week about his passion for playing for England but did not go into detail about why he flew home from the tournament.
Rice backs White's commitment
Rice said: "Ben has moved on from what's happened in the past, he's totally focused on playing for England. When he's been fit and available he's constantly put himself forward to play for England."
"He loves being here, it's not like he doesn't like being here, he loves playing for England, loves being around the lads."
"If people knew and understood Ben White as a character he's not fazed by anything, he goes with the flow and he just wants to play football and for England."
Fans entitled to opinion
Rice acknowledged the reaction from the stands: "Fans are entitled to their opinion, it is what it is but he doesn't feel that way with England. He wants to come out and play his best football and enjoy himself. I think that's credit to him, coming on and playing for England and being booed is not easy but the way his character is it really helps him."
He added that the issue is not a talking point within the squad: "It's not been a conversation for the team. It's so long ago now, it's nearly five years and it doesn't need to keep getting brought up. We need to look forward to the future and what Ben White is going to do in an England shirt, that's the most important thing."
"It's a pointless conversation, Ben has moved on, no-one talks about it around the dinner table, no-one speaks about it in the pool, we just play football and do what we need to do."
Midfield competition and longevity
Rice also welcomed competition from Bournemouth's Alex Scott, who impressed on his England debut last month. He said: "To be honest, Alex Scott playing was incredible. The way he's been playing for Bournemouth the last two or three seasons has been remarkable."
"The way he's being spoken about is totally right because of the levels he's set for himself and I totally understand playing for England comes with competition."
"When we signed Bruno Guimaraes, when we signed Zubimendi, when we had Myles, Merino, Odegaard, you're competing with six midfielders at your club every day so for me there's nothing different throughout my whole career there's been competition. It's normal."
The 27-year-old also said he hopes to play into his late 30s, pointing to Harry Kane's success as proof that staying fit makes it possible. He added: "If you look at Harry … it's not a coincidence the season he's had, Ballon d'Or winner, not just because of his footballing ability, just everything he does off the pitch to look after himself."
"His mindset is always right. He's always looking forward to the game. He's always preparing himself in the right way. He's always in a good way in his mind and I feel like for me … you need to be obsessed with football, still."
"You look at the greats that have played late into their 30s, they're obsessed and they love the game. And he is one of them. And I see myself being one of them as well. I want to maximise my career, I want to play for as long as possible."
"I want to play at the highest level for as long as possible. Doing that comes with sacrifices at that age, doing different things – recovery, preparing well, like I said."
"And being ready for whatever comes. Me at 33, I don't know where I'm going to be and what I'm going to be doing but for sure I hope I'm still at the top level, competing and playing really well."
