James Milner has relived the moment that he and Phil Jagielka were targets of a bizarre kidnapping plot during England's 2014 World Cup campaign in Brazil.
The Three Lions crashed out of the tournament at the group stages after losing to Italy and Uruguay, before failing to beat Costa Rica in their final match in South America.
It meant England finished bottom of Group D with just a point from three matches and the Three Lions squad were slammed for how they performed at the competition.
Roy Hodgson came under severe criticism, but it has since emerged that Milner was involved in a rather bizarre incident that could've rocked the squad. Speaking to ex-Three Lions teammate Ben Foster, Milner recalled how he and Jagielka managed to get into some trouble while playing some golf out in South America.
"We went for a round of golf and we couldn't quite get the holes in and I think we were in the middle of the back nine and the hotel was literally there, you could see it,' Milner reminisced in an interview with Amazon Prime show. "So you've [Foster] gone off and I think the car was going to come back for us. I said to the guy, 'we'll leave the buggies here and then we'll just walk back.'
"Obviously we have been told you can't really leave the hotel. So we have come out the gate and the gate has shut behind us. We're walking down the street and we've turned around and there is a group of guys. We're glancing and we're walking a bit quicker and they're walking a bit quicker."
He continued: "Then they start jogging, so we start running and we're like, 'we're in trouble here.' So we start sprinting, we can out-run them. So we're running down and the next thing, a car pulls up next to us. So I'm like, we're getting kidnapped here, it's game over. The door slides open, mid-run and it's the boys, the security and it's 'quick, get in!' We jumped in, on the move, back to the hotel."
That World Cup proved to be the final one for Milner, who announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2016, where England crashed out of the tournament in the last-16 against Iceland.
Meanwhile, the 2014 finals would be the last international tournament of Jagielka's career, who now finds himself now playing in England's second tier for Stoke City at the age of 40.
After retiring from international football, Milner said: "I would like to thank Sam [Allardyce] for taking the time to come and see me in person and have the conversation face to face, regarding my international future and role within the England set-up. I think the decision we have reached is all about common sense. I wish Sam, the players, staff and supporters success in the future."
