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WAGS GET SHOCK WORLD CUP CALL-UP
GARETH SOUTHGATE will be sending his players to Russia with love.
The Three Lions boss has sent an open invitation for England’s WAGs to join his boys at the World Cup next summer after insisting that bringing families into the camp is well worth the trouble and strife.
The FA’s preparations for the tournament are already under way – even though Southgate’s team still need a point from this week’s double header against Slovenia and Lithuania to seal qualification.
And wives and girlfriends will definitely be made welcome – despite the fact that the presence of high-profile partners like Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole and Coleen Rooney at previous tournaments has sparked a paparazzi scramble. Southgate (below) said: “I will absolutely encourage the families to come to Russia so that the lads can see them the day after a game.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a tournament where every player’s entire family has been in with us the whole time.
“But for some players it will be really important to have them there.
“Sadly, for my family, I am always so focused that I don’t want to be distracted.
“But for some players that can be hugely important and everyone is different as an individual.
“We want that environment where the players are relaxed. Sometimes it can become a bubble where there’s nothing else in your life.
“That’s when the small things can become much bigger than they should be and you find yourself with nothing else to talk about. You don’t want to get into a situation when players don’t hear anything new and are just talking about the tournament and training.
“If the lads can get out of the hotel at certain times, then great – although that’s not always easy.
“It would be wrong n 0ot to plan for the tournament.
“We have been out there, we have identified possible bases depending on the draw that takes places.
“You never lose focus on next week but, equally, we would be negligent and behind the game if we weren’t playing long term.
“There are some key factors – like the distance from your base to your training ground.
“But, ideally for me, the hotel will just be for us because it’s important for the players to feel relaxed and know that they can switch off.”