England’s World Cup hopefuls met 1966 winner Sir Bobby Charlton on Monday morning, as the Three Lions’ training pitch at St. George’s Park was named after the legendary star.
Gareth Southgate and his squad are at St. George’s to prepare for their next World Cup qualifiers with Slovenia and Lithuania and their first sessions since meeting up on Sunday evening was watched by Sir Bobby and his wife Norma after a short ceremony and the presentation of a signed shirt from the squad.
Sir Bobby then addressed the whole squad, and you can read his message to the players below.
And to mark the national football centre’s fifth anniversary and to coincide with the Manchester United legend’s 80th birthday next Wednesday, the Three Lions’ training pitch will be formally named after the 1966 World Cup-winning icon.
The one-time Ballon d’Or winner is then due to attend the game against Slovenia at Wembley as guest of honour on Thursday.
Southgate said: “It’s fantastic to be able to acknowledge the contribution Sir Bobby has made to our game, not only as a player but as an ambassador for the sport. It will be a very proud moment to introduce him to the current set of players and officially unveil the Sir Bobby Charlton pitch."
Sir Bobby played his final game for his country in 1970 with 106 caps and 49 goals to his name. The two tallies topped the England record books, before both were surpassed by fellow great Wayne Rooney in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
St. George’s Park was officially opened by HRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 9 October 2012. Various past and present greats of the men’s and women’s game have been acknowledged across the site ever since including a statue honouring Arthur Wharton and the naming of the main access road as Sir Alf Ramsey Way.
