Revealed: How England unwind with drill music – and James Morrison! – and who controls the speakers as Gareth Southgate’s players settle into their plush Euro 2024 resort
England stars celebrated their Euro 2024 victory over Serbia by listening to gangsta rap music, MailOnline can reveal.
The players arrived at their base camp in the early hours and drill music sounded around the hotel.
The supplier of the songs was Arsenal chief executive Declan Rice, who showed off his varied taste in music, much to the delight of his teammates.
His former West Ham teammate Jarrod Bowen, who starred for 20 minutes and gave captain Harry Kane a near miss, said the music was blaring after the match.
He added: “Dec loves DNA and at six in the morning I swear I’ve heard those Dec songs and I don’t know how many times.
Declan Rice is a fan of drill music and performed the music in the aftermath of England’s victory
The fact was shared by Rice’s England and former West Ham teammate Jarrod Bowen (right)
England’s stars have had some rest after Sunday’s win over Serbia
“When those songs come on, you know he’s in control.”
Defender Mark Guehi, who made his tournament debut for England against Serbia, admitted that when the team returned the music took over.
“There was a lot of practice yesterday,” he said.
Bowen, whose partner is Dani Dyer, added: ‘One minute Dec is playing an exercise and the next minute he’s playing a James Morrison song.
“(It was) one extreme to the other.”
But Guehi said his ideal song to play after a big win would be Blue’s “One Love.”
Bowen said the England team trained well together but were building friendships off the field and ‘everyone gets on so well.’
“It just clicks for me and it’s one of the most important things that everyone gets along.”
The players indicated that padel tennis, rounds of golf and the table card game Uno were favorites.
The team also enjoy talking about Love Island, Rice revealed.
Marc Guehi appeared with Bowen on England’s Lions Den podcast earlier this week
The camaraderie in the camp will be crucial in helping England get through the group stages
But Crystal Palace star Guehi said his first tournament match and the nerves he was having had him longing for his pillow and bed.
‘I can’t wait to sleep. “I am a broken man,” he said.
Bowen added: “It was an intense match, a physical match and (it was) demanding on the legs.
‘I told Mark I had played for twenty minutes, but I was sweating all over.
The players spoke to the official English podcast on Monday afternoon.
England is located at the Weimarer Land Golf and Spa resort in Blankenhain – costs around £800,000 and all 94 rooms are FA secured.
The suites have giant TVs, comfortable sofas and additional walk-in showers stocked with Clarins bathroom accessories.
Players like Kane, Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold have breakfast in brightly lit restaurants with salmon, organic sourdough bread and eggs and freshly squeezed orange juice on the menu, along with locally produced honey.
The dinner menu is also overseen by chefs who have been hired and engaged by the Football Association to ensure they have the best nutritional food so they can give their best during the month-long competition.
But FA’s kitchen staff has Michelin chefs Danny Schwabe and Marcello Fabbri from the complex’s restaurants The Augusta and The Masters on hand to provide a la carte food.
England has established its base at the Wiemarer Land Golf and Spa Resort in Blankenhain
England’s players are served by Robbie the Robot, who only speaks German but collects the team’s dishes
The two top chefs’ specialties include smoked roast beef with celery and focaccia, pink veal fillets with herbs and fried bread dumplings with beetroot and melted onions.
The hotel’s robot, Robbie, also drives around the team, taking plates from the kitchen and taking them away after use.
The English stars may only enjoy a drink when they’re not on international or club duty, but their hotel has racks of the finest wines on display as they move around the hotel.
Sommelier Thomas Stobbe said: ‘The players may not be drinking, but we have the best wines here. The most expensive is a 2001 Amarone Valpolicella, which costs around £680 per bottle. But the shelves will be locked.”