Prince William has paid a visit to the England Men’s football team ahead of their journey to Germany to compete in the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.

He shared some words of encouragement – some which were passed on from the young Prince Louis, who advised them to double up on their portions of food.

He said: “I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘What shall I say to the England team today?’.

“The best bit of advice I got to ask you was to eat twice the amount you normally would eat.

“So I then had visions of all of you running around with massive great tummies and loads of stitches on the pitch so I think maybe take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt.”

England captain Harry Kane jokingly said of Louis’s advice: “We’ve got to be careful with that one. I don’t think our nutritionist will be happy with that.”

The Prince of Wales then went on to praise the players for their performances in the lead-up to the tournament.

“I’ve seen every single one of you play this season. You’ve all done amazingly well.

“I really feel you’re all a unit. You fight for each other, you play for each other and you really care about putting that shirt on.”

Prince William, president of the FA, travelled to St George’s Park, England’s national football centre in Burton upon Trent to meet the squad and head coach Gareth Southgate.

He presented all 26 players with their shirts for the tournament, and spoke with Gareth Southgate about the team’s preparations so far.

England were beaten 1-0 by Iceland in their final warm-up friendly on Friday, ahead of their Group C opener against Serbia on Sunday.

In response to the loss against Iceland, England captain Harry Kane said: “Of course we were disappointed after that game. I’m sure we will look back at the game where we can improve.

“No one ever likes losing but we want to get on with it. The morale is good.”

Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire were among those to be cut from England’s final squad in an announcement on Thursday.

The Prince of Wales and England captain Harry Kane speak to young players at St George’s Park. Credit: PA

Jill Scott, Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane joined Prince William on the visit. Credit: PA

Schoolchildren from across the Midlands were invited to St George’s Park to attend a festival of football featuring friendly fixtures to mark England’s send-off.

Prince William dropped in to watch the matches and meet some of the youngsters taking part.

The children applauded as the prince arrived onto the pitches with Harry Kane, Jill Scott and Ollie Watkins.

Abhijey, 10, who came with his school peers to play football and meet William and the England players said he “never thought” that they would visit, but it was a “good surprise”.

The Prince of Wales is an Aston Villa fan who often takes his son Prince George to see games.

The England Men’s team reached the final of Euro 2020 only to lose on penalties to Italy, while they were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.

The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament begins in Germany on Friday.