The 26 players received shirts and well wishes from the Prince of Wales, the FA’s president, at St George’s Park, England’s national football center in Burton-upon-Trent.
“I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘What shall I say to the England team today?'” the prince added, addressing the players in a rousing speech.
“Eating twice as much as you usually would be the best suggestion I received for you.
I then saw all of you running around on the pitch with enormous, huge stomachs and tons of stitches, so perhaps you should heed my youngest child’s advise with a grain of salt.”
The squad’s first game is against Serbia on Sunday. Next week, they play Denmark and Slovenia.
Right now, Bet has England as the favorites to win their first European Championship in Germany.
To celebrate England’s farewell, schoolchildren from all across the Midlands were invited to St George’s Park for a football celebration.
Southgate and the prince were scheduled to stop by to observe the friendly matches and interact with some of the young participants.
