As World Cup fever builds
A Russian boy carrying a St George’s flag yesterday bread – a symbol of celebration often used in wedding ceremonies – and sweet tea by women in traditional dress. The tea came in an ornate golden urn, which onlookers said resembled a large sporting trophy.
The squad are settling into the remote ForRestMix Club hotel in the village of Repino, 35 miles from St Petersburg.
They have had their own kitchen built at the hotel so Football Association chefs can prepare players’ meals.
Two cooks were the first members of the squad to arrive in Russia last week to set up the new kitchen and source local ingredients.
They will fly to every match with the squad at least 24 hours before the game to ensure that all their nutritional and recovery requirements are met. Officials have also fitted special blackout blinds in players’ hotel rooms to stop almost constant daylight damaging their World Cup chances.
Their HQ is so far north they only get three hours of darkness between 12.30am and 3.30am.
Difficult
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli said he nearly got up in the middle of the night because it was so light.
Of his first night in the team hotel, he said: “I woke up at three in the morning and I thought it was time to get up. I just went back to sleep.’’
A police guard on the main entrance said: “They call it ‘white nights’ here. It is very difficult. We just don’t get any sleep because it is so light.” Meanwhile fans travelling to Russia in time for the World Cup were last night caught up in a 15-mile tailback on the border.
Thousands of supporters heading out of Belarus found themselves snarled up in a monster jam on the Minsk to Moscow highway.
Officials said the congestion was caused by weight of numbers trying to reach Russia. The two countries had hoped to avoid a logjam by agreeing supporters with passports and World Cup fan IDs could pass through Belarus without visas.
Sources said the delay appeared to be due to the manual checking of paperwork.
England fans have been taking planes, trains, cars, bicycles and even a yacht to try to make it to Russia. Mitchell Jones and Jamie Marriott are cycling from Emsworth, Hampshire, to Volgograd for the Tunisia match.
The friends are raising money for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.
Entrepreneur Graham Kentsley sailed to Volgograd for the match and a Chinese supporter is riding on horseback to all 11 host cities.
Meanwhile former England boss Sam Allardyce believes he should be leading the team at the World Cup instead of Southgate.
In a BBC documentary to be shown on Sunday, Allardyce, 63, says: “I believe I should still be the England manager. While I will be extremely jealous I will be watching Gareth and the lads and hope they do extremely well.”