“We were on the hunt for beers” – 2 England fans get invited to sheikh’s home and spend night with pet lions during FIFA World Cup trip

Two England fans were invited to a sheikh's house and got to spend the night with his pet lions during their 2022 FIFA World Cup trip.

The fans were out searching for beer and became friends with one of the sheikh's sons. They were invited back to the palace for a party.

A fan said:

“We met one of the sheikh’s sons & he took us back to the palace. We were on the hunt for beers and we ended up at a big palace, we saw his monkeys & exotic birds!”

The Three Lions beat Iran 6-2 in the opening fixture of Group B. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring for the Three Lions with a looping header. Bukayo Saka scored a stunning left-footed goal to double the advantage before Raheem Sterling thumped home a brilliant Harry Kane pass in style.

Saka scored another and substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also scored even as Mehdi Taremi bagged a consolation brace for Iran.

What did England manager Gareth Southgate say ahead of their opening game at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?

Gareth Southgate - 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar

Speaking ahead of his team's opening fixture against Iran in Group B of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Gareth Southgate told the media (via The Guardian):

“Maybe we’ve made the impossible look possible, It’s exciting for other people and I can understand that. We want England to be competitive for years to come and I believe that our academy system has got that."

Southgate added:

“There are challenges within that because we’re back to 31% of the league being eligible for England and only four or five exports of a high level. There are still some challenges for us in terms of development and opportunity for players. But we have also got some good players and we should be competitive for the next six, eight years with this group.”

Southgate added that despite the negativity about Qatar's human rights issues, the English camp is in a positive mood.

“What we have tried to do in the last seven years is excite them about going to a World Cup and that has been balanced about the topics they have been asked to discuss, which are very serious, There is a lot of negativity around the tournament and I want them to understand the unique honour of representing England at a major tournament."