Jesse Lingard has undoubtedly been one of the success stories among the Manchester United players at the 2018 World Cup.
While the livewire forward has been ripping it up during England’s magnificent run to the semi-finals, Jesse has been supported all the way by his family out in Russia, including brother Louie Scott.
Throughout the tournament, Louie has been MUTV’s Three Lions correspondent as a regular caller on The Paddy Crerand Show, revealing what it’s been like to be in and around the England camp...
How is it over in Russia right now?
“It’s amazing at the moment. I’m just trying to come back down to earth after Saturday’s game [England’s 2-0 win over Sweden]. Everything is going well!”
I bet when you ventured off to Russia that you would have never believed what a journey England would go on…
“No way. Like I’ve said previously, we were booked to come out for 10 days. I was going to do half that time but obviously what the lads have done now, they’ve gone past their expectations and going on to the semi-final on Wednesday. Hopefully on Sunday we could be lifting the World Cup.”
Obviously your brother and his team-mates have been working hard and trying to keep their feet on the ground. Have you had chance to chat to him since the victory over Sweden to gauge the mood?
“Yes, the only difficult thing is that we moved out to Moscow, so we could get closer to the games so we weren’t doing as much travelling. We just had a chat afterwards straight after the game, obviously about the game and stuff like that. They are all in high spirits and very confident, very sure about themselves. Jesse said to me on the day that no matter what happens, we’re not ready to go! I think there’s a real energy and feeling around the camp that they’ve got at the moment. There’s a real good camaraderie which is nice to see.”
As Jesse has been out there for so long, it’s not just you out there now – it’s become a bit of a family affair. Explain who is out there with you…
“Our uncle is out here with us and our cousin Gabby, who plays for Everton Ladies, and his mum Kirsty. The good thing about it is, if you’ve seen Jesse’s social media posts, he put out a post saying I’m not coming home mum because it’s coming home. I think that was one of the moments that made her come out and try to get in as much of the scene and atmosphere. If you saw the post after it and the hug they had between themselves, you can see the energy they’re sharing. It was unbelievable and they created a bit of a historic moment. She was there to see her son and obviously Jesse was a bit overwhelmed which was truly a heart-warming experience in every kind of dimension.”