Captain Harry gets his hands on the trophy
OK, it’s a Russian tea urn... but here’s hoping
ENGLAND’S stars will battle to get enough sleep after arriving at their World Cup base – which is so far north that it hardly goes dark.
The team hotel is in the Russian village of Repino, 19 miles from St Petersburg.
At this time of the year, they have Beliye Nochi – White Nights in Russian – when it does not go completely dark.
Dele Alli said of his first night at the hotel: “I woke up at three in the morning and I thought it was time to get up.”
It was so light that some of the players had a midnight fitness session in the gym.
John Stones and Kyle Walker posted pictures online of the late-night workout.
England officials have made sure the players’ rooms have blackout curtains to keep them dark. “The hotel is used to the daylight hours and the curtains deal with it,” said a source.
But a police guard told the Mirror: “They call it the white nights and we just don’t get any sleep because it is so light.”
Earlier, England captain Harry Kane got his hands on an impressive trophy – after Russian dignitaries welcomed the team with gifts.
They included an ornate samovar – a Russian tea urn – at a ceremony at the Spartak Zelenogorsk stadium during England’s first training session.
England manager Gareth Southgate was presented with bread and salt, a traditional welcome gift in Russia.
Watched by 400 local schoolchildren, Kane gave an autographed England football to three-year-old local schoolboy Artur Shuarez before the team took to the field.
“We are proud to welcome the Motherland of football to Russia,” said a stadium announcer. “The tea pot is a gift from us. Have a drink to remind you of your homeland.”
The bread was baked into a souvenir for the team to keep.
The players were upbeat and relaxed as they went through their paces under the watchful gaze of Southgate and his staff.
Afterwards, the manager joined Jamie Vardy, 31, Eric Dier, 24, Alli, 22, and Ashley Young, 29, in signing autographs and posing for selfies with the kids.
Vardy said the team had settled well into the Country Club ForRestMix hotel, a short drive from the training ground. “We definitely have momentum after the last few matches,” he said. “As a group we all get on and it makes it more enjoyable when you enjoy it, and that means you play better.
“We are all very close and it is exciting going into the first game. We have to make sure we are all ready, and it does feel like a club team. The atmosphere is really good, and that is how it should be.”
Man Utd star Lingard posted images from inside the Three
Lions camp within minutes of arrival at the hotel on Tuesday night.
Players have family photos in their rooms, and Lingard’s shows his mother.
Spurs star Dier said: “I thought the pictures of our loved ones was a really nice touch. It is the little things that make a difference.
“It is good to look at them every now and then.”
The FA has booked the entire hotel, with staff wearing the official accreditation badges required by all workers and media at the tournament.
Meanwhile, violence flared for the first time in the build-up to the first game of Russia 2018.
An England fan has told police he was robbed and attacked by five local men in Moscow on Monday.
It follows claims a French gay man and a companion suffered serious injuries on Saturday after being beaten by two men in St Petersburg.
Russia take on Saudi Arabia in Moscow today following the opening ceremony.
Bosses are being urged to let staff work flexibly to watch the World Cup games.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It’s important employers do not score an own goal by acting like killjoys. They should let people watch the games, then claim back their time afterwards.”
I woke up at three in the morning at the hotel and thought it was time to get up DELE ALLI ON ENGLAND BASE WHERE IT NEVER GOES DARK