England to jet in Jaffa Cakes, English mustard, baked beans and tea bags and get personal chef to check for poisoned food at World Cup in Russia


ENGLAND will fly out plenty of home comforts to feast on at the World Cup in the aftermath of the Russian spy poisoning.

A specialist catering team will bring supplies of favourites like Jaffa Cakes, baked beans, tomato sauce, chocolate, English mustard and tea bags.

This will be England's shopping list for the Russia World Cup - with plenty of hazardous items to watch out for
This will be England’s shopping list for the Russia World Cup – with plenty of hazardous items to watch out for
England boss Gareth Southgate has welcomed his players to voice any concerns ahead of flying to Russia
England boss Gareth Southgate has welcomed his players to voice any concerns ahead of flying to Russia
Getty Images - Getty

But the bulk of the food is sourced in the host nation.

Three Lions bosses have already confirmed they will send a team of chefs out to Russia more than a week before the squad arrives to check supplies of food in the wake of the poisoning spy scandal.

The team will test the quality of the meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, rice and pasta supplied to their Gulf of Finland base.

Water and milk will also be tested for quality to make sure ill-health cannot derail Gareth Southgate’s tilt at glory in the summer.

Outside the hotel England will find there is little on offer in Repino
Outside the hotel England will find there is little on offer in Repino
The gym facilities awaiting England next summer look in need of modernising
The gym facilities awaiting England next summer look in need of modernising
The forRestMix hotel is being spruced up - in time for England next summer
The forRestMix hotel is being spruced up – in time for England next summer
The hotel interior for Gareth Southgate and his squad is pretty spartan
The hotel interior for Gareth Southgate and his squad is pretty spartan

An FA source said: “All the food used will be checked and tested stringently. The most important thing is that none of the players experience any problems before matches.

“The team will get through huge amounts of chicken, pasta, fish etc and so the quality must be spot-on.”


THE END OF THE WORLD This is England’s World Cup base – and it’s pretty bleak


The diplomatic row over the use of a nerve agent against a former spy and his daughter living in Salisbury has escalated into a global scandal but it is not likely to lead to the Three Lions boycotting the tournament.

It has, however, led to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office warning that there could be increased hostility against Brits in Russia and England officials are set to be extra vigilant once the team arrives.

England will be based at secluded four-star Club ForRestMix resort in sleepy town of Repino, around 25 miles north of St Petersburg and will train at a stadium in nearby Zelenogorsk which is being overhauled for the competition.

Boss Gareth Southgate has revealed he will give his players the chance to voice any concerns over going to the tournament as the diplomatic crisis between the two nations worsens.

But he says he’s determined to carry on planning for the World Cup and let the Government and FA deal with the wider political issues amid calls for a boycott.

SunSport's Neil Ashton visited England's trainig base just before Christmas, and reported back some pretty bleak scenes
SunSport’s Neil Ashton visited England’s trainig base just before Christmas, and reported back some pretty bleak scenes

He said: “My job as a manager is to prepare the team. As far as my briefings have gone, we are preparing to go to the World Cup.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that’s what we should be doing but the safety and security of our players, staff and travelling supporters is also paramount.

“Any talks of a boycott is out of my control. We’re desperate to go to the World Cup and that’s where my remit ends on that matter.”

Southgate will leave it to individual players to decide if they feel safe enough to play in Russia.

He added: “It’s always an individual decision.”


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