England's hopes of lifting the 2022 Football World Cup might have been dashed, but they are coming home with a furry friend. During their time in Qatar, the English players were often seen with a stray cat that they named Dave and they have now adopted him, BBC reported. Dave stayed close to their team hotel and developed a bond with the England players especially defenders Kyle Walker and John Stones. The cat was also unofficially adopted by the players as the team's mascot as it spent a lot of time with them.
The cat left Al Wakrah just two hours after the squad had departed and will first head to a local veterinary clinic for tests and vaccinations. It will have to spend four months in quarantine before it can be reunited with the players, according to CNN.
Both Kyle Walker and John Stones, who were Dave's biggest fans, were often pictured with their furry friend and shared regular updates of it on social media. The duo had initially said they'd bring stray Dave back if they won the trophy, but decided to adopt him anyway despite their heartbreaking loss at the hands of France.
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The players first spotted the cat while training at their base camp in Al Wakrah. They named the cat Dave and gave it food every night during their four-week stay in Qatar.
"He was just there one day, so we've just adopted him, me and Stonesy. "Dave is welcome to the table ... Some people really don't like the cat, but I love him", Walker told the Football Association's official media channel, as reported by BBC.
Another cat previously made headlines when Brazil winger Vinicius Jr and the team manager were in the middle of a presser ahead of Brazil's quarterfinal clash against Croatia. The cat jumped out of nowhere onto their table, and Brazil's manager threw it away rudely. Interestingly, stray cats have become a common sight around restaurants, hotels, stadiums, training sessions, and press conferences in Qatar.
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