Jesse Lingard's brother: He's not ready to go home

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.”

Sometimes in this world, when footballers are on posters and billboards, we hail them as superstars but sometimes you forget they are guys as well. Jesse is very much a family guy, isn’t he? Hugging his mum was such a lovely moment… 
“Yes, I think everyone that was there, especially me being his brother as well, watching him embrace his mum like that after a historic moment going into the semi-finals, you kind of want to share that feeling. I think that transfers straight to the nation. There has been a lot of good feedback from that because it’s bringing the nation together, pulling together and it’s beautiful to see. She made the trip all by herself all the way from Warrington, straight down to Heathrow on a couple of planes, and the embrace was amazing.”

No mum, I’m not coming home. It’s... pic.twitter.com/VdFHVoEfTI

— Jesse Lingard (@JesseLingard) July 3, 2018

 

Because i said we aint going home she came here ❤️ Love You pic.twitter.com/rEPiLVdth8

— Jesse Lingard (@JesseLingard) July 7, 2018

Before we let you go, what are your thoughts on the semi-final and how do you think England will negotiate a tricky tie against Croatia?
“Of course, now they are coming up against the calibre of teams that they’ve been waiting for in the later rounds. They’ve got some terrific players like [Luka] Modric and [Ivan] Rakitic and [Ivan] Perisic. They’ve got a lot of experience but they [England] are not fearing anyone and I believe these guys have got a lot of youth inside of them, they’ve got a lot of legs and I think they can overcome in all dimensions that Croatia team. This England team have got a lot of perseverance, there’s a different style of play that I’m watching. In the Colombia match, one thing that was notable was that your head can go after conceding a goal in the last minute and you can start to play in a different kind of way but it didn’t. They played from the back and tried to keep things going, tried to keep the ball ticking, they didn’t panic and have been playing very stress-free. Even when it went to penalties, you could see from the way the penalties were being taken – Marcus Rashford probably summed it up – the calmness and collectiveness they’ve got about them. It’s a different kind of system and a different kind of energy we’re seeing from them compared to England teams from previous years. I don’t think they’re fearing anyone – even France or Belgium in the final. They want those teams now and these lads have an average age of 25, so they will want to prove themselves.”

Final question – is it coming home?
“Definitely! 100 per cent. It’s coming home, guys!”

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