PRINCE LOUIS' WITTY ADVICE FOR ENGLAND TEAM AHEAD OF EUROS LEAVES WILLIAM IN STITCHES

Prince William has shared Prince Louis' hilarious advice for the England team ahead of Euro 2024.

The Prince of Wales, who is president of the FA, visited the England team's training ground at St George's Park in Burton-upon-Trent this morning to wish the squad good luck before they head out to Germany for the tournament later today.

William chatted with manager Gareth Southgate and handed each player their squad number shirts before they kick off their campaign against Serbia on Sunday night. The prince shook hands with Southgate, remarking how "in a few hours" the squad was "getting ready to go" and head to Germany. During his visit, William also got the opportunity to give the players a pep talk and he shared Louis' words of wisdom for them.

He said: "Guys, while I was on the way here, I was thinking what shall I say. And I thought what can I offer as you are all an experienced team here with Gareth and I was thinking what could I say to help before you went away?

"And I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said 'what shall I say to the England team today'. The best bit of advice I got was to eat twice the amount you would normally eat. And I now have visions of all of you running around with massive tummies and getting stitches on the pitch. So I think take my youngest's advice with a pinch of salt!"

However, when asked about Louis' suggestion to eat twice as much food to prepare for the tournament, England captain Harry Kane jokingly said: "I don’t think our nutritionist will be happy with that advice."

He said it is 'great' to have the Prince of Wales and that his surprise visit will give the team "extra motivation". Of the upcoming tournament he said there was "one more job to do" to go "one more step from last year". "We know how much it means to the country and the fans. The nation comes together at this moment."

Schoolchildren from across the Midlands were also invited to St George's Park today to attend a festival of football featuring friendly fixtures, to mark England's send-off. The prince and Southgate dropped in to watch the matches and meet some of the youngsters taking part. William is a passionate Aston Villa fan who often takes his son Prince George to see games.

England's preparations so far have seen a 33-man preliminary squad cut down to 26 for the tournament and two friendly matches. Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire were among those to be cut from England's final offering.

A win over Bosnia and Herzegovina was followed by a disappointing defeat to Iceland but training can get underway in earnest with the group now complete following Jude Bellingham's arrival before flying to Germany.

The squad are set to check into Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land on Monday and will be based at the isolated, luxury venue for the extent of their stay. The Three Lions will travel to Gelsenkirchen, Cologne and Frankfurt for their group stage games against Serbia, Slovenia and Denmark, but will train and stay in a resort that boasts two golf courses, swimming pools and a games room.

The England Men's team reached the final of Euro 2020 only to lose on penalties to Italy, while they were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup. The Uefa Euro 2024 tournament begins in Germany on Friday.

2024-06-10T11:26:01Z dg43tfdfdgfd