The wives and girlfriends of England's Euro 2024 squad members have been out in Germany supporting their partners, who disappointed in a 1-1 draw with Denmark on Thursday
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Southgate takes responsibility for England's showing v Denmark
England players got a much-needed morale boost on Thursday when they were visited by their wives and girlfriends.
The WAGs arrived at the team’s secluded hotel HQ to cheer up their partners after Thursday night’s lacklustre performance. They had all met briefly in the stands after the game against Denmark but on Thursday they spent much more time together.
But the “wag war” continued in Frankfurt with England's vice captain Kyle Walker having family on both sides of the stadium. His wife Annie Kilner and former lover Lauryn Goodman both cheered the footballer on separately from the stands.
Ms Kilner, 31, and their three sons sat alongside other WAGs to support her husband. Meanwhile, Ms Goodman, 33, sat in the opposite stand with their son Kairo, four, and her grandad.
She took to Instagram on Thursday to post a photo of a comment from a follower who praised the mum-of-two for being a good mum to Kairo. The comment read: "Yes!!!!! F***king amazing taking K to watch the football. A true soldier who won't be silenced or hidden away." Another read: "So, so proud of you for going to that match. He's the one that's done wrong, not you. Wish I was as strong as you."
Harry Kane's wife Kate, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's wife Megan Davison and Aine Kennedy, who is dating Conor Gallagher were also in Germany. Those who played against Denmark were given the whole day off yesterday and spent their time relaxing at the team base at the 94-room Weimarer Land Golf and Spa resort in Blankenhain - which cost the FA £800,000.
Will England put in a better performance against Slovenia? Have your say in the comments section
England fans were starting to be a bit more upbeat after the disappointing match. Many left Frankfurt heading north towards Cologne for Tuesday’s game.
A draw against Slovenia will guarantee going through to the knockout stages A win will see them top the ground and a return to Gelsenkirchen for the round of 16 - where they beat Serbia 1-0 on Sunday. Many remained positive.
Liam Parks, 25, said: “It wasn’t a great performance but four points from the first two games is a very solid base. I’ve had a fantastic time here in Germany. The people have been great and so has the atmosphere.”
Liam from Eastbourne, East Sussex is a fan of non league side Eastbourne Borough and deputy manager of the town’s pub Friday Street Farm, added: “I still think we can go all the way and win it.”
There was a continuing fall-out over the state of the pitch in Frankfurt. Embarrassed UEFA bosses were forced to issue a statement after the horrendous turf issues which marred the game.
The turf cut up badly and Walker was forced to change his boots. Fans took to social media to say the pitch “wasn’t fit for a car boot sale”. Now UEFA said they will try and improve the pitch for future matches.
A spokesman said: “ A detailed maintenance plan is in place to address specific issues and further improve quality ahead of the upcoming fixtures at the venue.”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan posted: "When Kyle Walker went over on his ankle it looked nasty. Has to be a concern and puts doubt in the players’ minds."
Another wrote: "The pitch in Frankfurt isn’t fit for a car boot sale let alone a European Championship game. Embarrassing and dangerous." Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said it looked like players “needed rollerskates”.
Professor Steve Haake, from the sports engineering research group at Sheffield Hallam University, said he thought the turf had been brought in "too late" and that it was "basically like a carpet that has not been tacked down". He said: "What happened last night is that there was lots of humidity in the air making the ground moist, and that exacerbated the problem.
"So reversing that (roof closure) would have taken equally as long and they would have had to delay the game, and they can't really do that with the transmission times. When you've got 58,000 fans all breathing out and getting very excited, that's going to create a thousand kilograms of moisture per hour."
In other developments, police guarding the German border stopped three violent Hungarian football fans from entering Germany Three men aged between 34 and 50, claimed they were driving to Stuttgart to cheer for Hungary in their match against Germany. But when their car was searched the cops discovered an alarming range of items, including balaclavas, mouthguards, and animal defence spray,
Daniel Gibis at the Federal Police Inspectorate in Passau said: "The men were part of the violent fan scene and clearly had no fair play in mind."
"Due to the suspicions, the federal police launched an investigation and denied the men entry into Germany. The three Hungarian citizens were not allowed to continue their journey as planned and instead had to return to Austria on Wednesday."
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