Harry Kane and Dan Burn were among the England players who had to leave a US country music star's concert before it ended — missing the last three songs — because they had to be back for their team curfew.
The England captain, who scored twice in England's 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening World Cup match, attended the Ella Langley show in Independence, Missouri, along with Burn and goalkeeper Jason Steele. Manager Thomas Tuchel had given the players a day off on Friday.
“Harry Kane and teammates left an Ella Langley concert early to meet curfew after England's World Cup win.”
Burn, a Newcastle United defender, said Kane is a "big country music fan". There is a record player in the team hotel, and when it is the captain's pick, "a lot of it is country music", Burn added.
Langley is best known for her hit Choosin' Texas, which reached the top of the US charts and number 12 in the UK. Burn described how the players were invited to the show: "We got asked to go and watch Ella Langley. I was the only person suited and booted with cowboy hat, jeans, the lot."
Kane and Steele managed to meet Langley before the gig, but Burn arrived later. "But we missed the last three songs because we had to be back for curfew, which I was a bit gutted about because those are her best ones," Burn said.
He also noted that Langley had been playing in West Palm Beach while England were there, but they could not attend because of the curfew. "I'm glad we got another opportunity," he added.
Kane later posted pictures from the concert on Instagram, one showing him next to Langley holding an England shirt. "Great to meet you @ellalangleymusic, thank you for having us! Amazing show, keep smashing it!" he wrote.
The England squad are now preparing for their next World Cup match, against Ghana. Saka trained alone as the team gears up for that game.