Send in the WAGs! England's stars bring partners to World Cup camp
England star Jude Bellingham has been spotted on a day off enjoying dinner with his girlfriend and parents.
Bellingham and the rest of the Three Lions were rewarded for their thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening group game with a surprise reunion with their wives, girlfriends and families.
The Real Madrid star was spotted with American influencer girlfriend Ashlyn Castro and his divorced parents Mark and Denise Bellingham in trendy Clay and Fire, a Middle East restaurant in Kansas City.
Owner Adam Jones told the Daily Mail: 'I had no idea who he was but some Brazilian customers in at the time recognised him and were very excited about it. But like I say, I had no clue who he was.
'They told me he was a famous footballer and he was with his parents and girlfriend, they stayed here for two hours and they were very nice when I did go up and introduced myself as the owner.
Jude Bellingham has been spotted on a day off enjoying dinner with his family
Bellingham's girlfriend Ashlyn Castro, who has been staying in Miami, joined his parents
'I told him to come back and Jude said he'd enjoyed his meal and said he would bring the lads as he was going to be in Kansas a while.'
Video footage shared with the Daily Mail shows Jude sat next to Ashlyn as they both scroll on their phones while dad Mark is talking and his ex wife looks on.
Earlier Jude had been spotted at a Kansas City golf complex Top Golf while team mates Ivan Toney, Ezri Konsa, Trevoh Chalobah, and Djed Spence were all seen enjoying a padel match.
Wives, children and girlfriends were allowed to join the Three Lions after boss Thomas Tuchel gave them permission to spend time with their loved ones after their heroic start at the World Cup.
Many went for a walk in the park opposite their £250-a-night hotel in Kansas, Missouri, the boutique Inn at Meadowbrook while those with children went to a nearby kids' park.
The WAGs flew into Kansas from Dallas where they had spent two nights before flying to Kansas and those who went included goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's wife Megan and their two children.
Megan has had a nightmare start to her World Cup experience after her luggage was lost en route and had to borrow a pair of jeans to wear to last Wednesday's match.
The day with the families was also especially poignant for Megan and children Arlo, seven, Ostrava, three and one year old daughter Misty as it was her wedding anniversary.
She and Everton goalkeeper Jordan tied the knot in 2022 and old romantic Jordan sent her 36 pink and red roses which she posted on her Instagram page with the caption 'Anniversary morning.'
In his hand written note Jordan said: 'Happy Anniversary to my soulmate and the love of my life. Love you Jords xxx.'
A source said: 'The gaffer said they deserved the time off and so the families were invited to the hotel to be with their players.
'It was the chance to spend some quality time which is important for mindset and the first real chance they had to spend some quality time together since leaving pre tournament camp.
'They did see their families after the Croatia game but it was in the stands and over very quickly.
'Some of those with kids went to a local theme park while others stayed in and around the hotel, the key thing was just to be together and it was great to see.'
Bukayo Saka's partner Tolami Benson posted a picture of an airplane window on Friday morning and then later another image from a car window which was captioned 'Kansas City, Missouri.'
She also uploaded an image of a country and western concert she had gone to in Dallas before flying to Missouri.
Dan Burn's wife Roz and their two children were part of the reunion as was Ollie Watkins' wife Ellie and their children and the whole group are thought to have had a bonding dinner - as they did in Miami - before leaving.
Bukayo Saka's partner Tolami Benson picture as she headed to Kansas City too
England's players have been enjoying themselves at their Kansas City training camp
Harry Kane's wife Kate and their children are thought to have returned to Germany after she posted an image from a plane window and captioned it 'Munich'.
She also uploaded pictures of herself enjoying a rodeo in Dallas and she was captured on the rodeo cam and Harry replied with a red heart and St George flag emoji.
The WAGS are expected to return to their Miami base later on Saturday before flying up to Boston for England's next match against Ghana.
This current set of WAGS are a far cry from the original ones twenty years ago who were synonymous with the 2006 tournament in Germany for their partying and shopping.
Back then there were £500 a night bar bills and £70,000 shopping sprees and it left pundit Rio Ferdinand famously fuming as he branded them a 'circus' while Gary Neville was 'f*****g fuming'.
Led by Sir David Beckham's wife Victoria, the group included Cheryl Tweedy, then Ashley Cole's wife, Peter Crouch's partner Abby Clancy and of course the late manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's partner fiery Italian lawyer Nancy Dell'Olio.
But this current generation are far more lower key and are more likely to be seen posting fashion and make up tips as part of their social media influencer profiles.
Only half of the Three Lions families are in Miami - which is 1,400 miles away - with the rest planning to join once the group stages are over at the end of the month.
They were not allowed to spend the night at the team hotel and instead were in a five-star spa establishment elsewhere in Kansas City.
By contrast, World Cup minnows Curacao have Dutch coach Dick Advocaat allowing his players to stay with their partners in their hotel in Florida.
Tuchel is said to be relaxed about family time but the long travel distances - 5,640 miles just for the group games - the equivalent of flying to South Africa and the tight schedules will make meeting up difficult.
Former boss Gareth Southgate generally allowed his players to meet after matches and again the following day.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
