It's coming home.
No, it's not the World Cup as England's hopes of lifting the trophy were dashed last Saturday, but a furry friend that a couple of Three Lions players adopted in Qatar.
Manchester City duo Kyle Walker and John Stones did not want to leave Qatar completely empty-handed – hence they are taking home a stray cat befriended by the team at their base, Reuters reports.
England came up short in Saturday’s match against France, who clinched a gutsy 2-1 quarter-final win.
The cat, who Stones named Dave, will have to spend four months in quarantine before he can be reunited with the City duo.
"He was just there one day, so we’ve just adopted him, me and Stonesy,” Walker told the FA’s official media channel. "Dave is welcome to the table ... some people really don’t like the cat, but I love him."
"First day we got there ... Dave pops out,” Stones said. "Every night he sat there waiting for his food."
After learning about Dave from Stones' official Instagram account, the Qatar Animal Welfare Society (QAWS) stepped in and dropped a "gift basket" for the cat at the hotel where the English team was staying.
"When this young cat noticed the local hotel had some guests, he thought he'd try his luck and join them for dinner, and what a good move that turned out to be," the QAWS said in an Instagram post. "When we saw the post saying he had turned up, we popped a cat gift basket down to the hotel with some essentials and treats.”
"Dave soon became a favourite with the England team, and his posts became so popular on social media that he's made the newspapers and featured on TV in the UK,” the QAWS added. “Dave is one lucky cat and his future now looks very bright."
After news of Dave's adoption and journey to England became officials, the QAWS wrote: "Yes, it's official, Dave is going home.”
"Dave is busy raising the profile and showing everyone how amazing our Doha strays really are,” the QAWS added. “So many visitors have reached out to rescuers here and we know other lucky cats have also found their way into hearts and will be travelling in the future a great outcome from the World Cup Qatar 2022.”
"As he's going to the UK, Dave will be patiently waiting out his four months as he prepares for his new life."
Qatar
Three Lions take cat back home
Kyle Walker and John Stones adopt cat befriended by England team at their base in Qatar
Dave at the English team's base in Qatar
Dave with Walker and Stones