The buzz of a phone in a pocket. A hand reaches down to check the screen. It reads ‘one new message.’

The sender? Gareth Southgate. The England boss had been sending round messages to confirm to players they are in the squad heading to Russia.

For Ruben Loftus-Cheek, this is massive. Thankfully, for the Chelsea midfielder, it is the positive message he was dreaming of.

‘I got a text from Gareth and he just said he was looking forward to working with me in Russia,’ explained Ruben. ‘My heart started pumping when I saw his name flash up on my screen but I was just so excited and thrilled to be part of the squad for the World Cup, it was such a fantastic feeling.

‘I didn’t know how I felt on that day really. I was leaving it open, I had prepared myself mentally for both decisions. Thankfully it was the answer I wanted and I’m just so delighted and excited to be heading to Russia.

‘For me and for most people, playing at a World Cup is the pinnacle, so to play at this level with the best players and the best teams is great, and I can’t wait to test myself against the best.

‘The squad is quite young and I know a few of the boys well so that will be good for me, there’s nothing unfamiliar. Obviously Gaz [Gary Cahill] will be there too, so it’s nice to have a Chelsea face there with me but like I said, I know most of the squad and we are all ready to get to work.

‘The first World Cup I watched properly was probably 2010, the year when Frank Lampard had that ‘goal’ ruled out against Germany in South Africa. That was a moment I remember clearly, it was so unlucky and something that stuck with me and I’m sure many others.

‘World Cups are fantastic tournaments though for producing those sort of iconic moments, it was just unfortunate that England were on the wrong side of it on that occasion.’