Chesney Hawkes has revealed that England players want to adopt him as their World Cup mascot after inspiring them with his brilliant half-time show in Qatar.
England took on arch-rivals Wales in a crunch clash at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday night when the two home nations went into the break goalless in their final Group B fixture.
Wales needed to beat England by a four goal margin to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the competition, while the Three Lions had pretty much already booked their place in the round of 16 this weekend.
But it was the Gareth Southgate's side who prevailed in the second half thanks to a brace from Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and a finish from Manchester City star Phil Foden wrapped up an emphatic 3-0 victory to seal top spot and a tie against Senegal for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Chesney, 51, belted out his 1991 number one hit 'The One And Only' during the half-time interval and has been credited - by the England players themselves - as the person who motivated the team.
He told The Sun : "I spent five weeks at number one and topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic - but this was undoubtedly my career highlight.
"I got to perform for the England team and the fans I love — then got to celebrate with the players after the game.
"I came here as a football fan above all else and this was the best night any fan could ever imagine."
He added: "Every one of them said they wanted to adopt me as their mascot after England’s fortunes changed so quickly after I performed. It was honestly one of the best moments of my entire life."
Chesney got to celebrate with the triumphant England players after the game and posed for photos with the World Cup stars, including goalscorers Foden and Rashford.
He also had snaps with Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount and Man City's Jack Grealish but the West Ham fan admitted that he only had eyes for one player as he "made a beeline for my hero Declan [Rice]".
The 23-year-old midfielder seemed just as excited to meet the singer, with Rice gifting him his match shirt and signing it for Chesney's youngest son Indiana, writing: "Indi Top Boy! - Declan Rice."
Chesney now resides in Los Angeles with his model wife Kristina, 47, who he has been married to for 25 years and his three children, Casey, 21, Jesse, 19 and 17-year-old Indiana.
And he added it was "weird" when English wonder kid Jude Bellingham gave him a hand slap in the tunnel as the Borussia Dortmund man is two years younger than his eldest child.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033.
