The Lionesses have landed in Australia, hoping not to return home until after August 20 – the day they expect to lift the World Cup.
We can reveal that in case they get homesick in the next six weeks, there is a game plan: Love Island.
As they boarded a coach to Heathrow on Thursday, Rachel Daly, 31, revealed she had packed the essentials to make sure they do not miss an episode of the ITV show.
Rachel, left with captain Millie Bright, said: “I bet you any money, come next week someone is going to say, ‘I can’t watch Love Island, has anyone got an HDMI cable?’ Don’t worry – I’ve got three.”
The striker, who even has a Love Island eye mask, said: “We’re going to miss tonight. It’s the recoupling. Nobody tell us. We’ll have to watch when we land.”
The team touched down at 4am on Friday and headed to their HQ on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast ahead of their first game against Haiti on July 22.
Millie, 29, said: “We will be getting some nice coffee and just exploring the country.”
Some Lionesses opted for red lens ‘cryogenic’ glasses in a bid to beat the jet lag.
But how well they worked was debatable as the Lionesses instagram shared a snap of Georgia Stanway, Rachel Daly and Ellie Roebuck looking exhausted on a bench on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Among their number is Chelsea star Lauren James, who has thanked her Chelsea boss Emma Hayes for helping her get “back to being myself again” as she heads to her first World Cup.
The 21-year-old has impressed for England after making her debut against Austria last September, and with 11 caps and one goal for the Lionesses under her belt, James is now preparing for her first major tournament.
James, named young player of the year at the inaugural Women’s Football Awards in May, said of Hayes: “Emma is always helpful, she’s played a massive role in just getting me back to being myself again. She just says ‘enjoy it’, like ‘start enjoying the moments’.
“I had two years of just like constant injuries. She managed me well and it’s allowed me to find my feet again.
“In the moment everyone is like ‘why is Lauren not playing?’ and I want to be playing on the pitch, but in the long run it’s obviously paid out and it’s kept me on the pitch this season.”
