Barry Hayles was in the England side that won the Seniors World Cup. please log in to view this image And he has revealed the fuel that helped them win – it’s vindaloo! No, the veterans weren’t gorging on hot curry in Thailand. Their secret weapon was to sing the football song in the tunnel before games. It worked against Scotland in the semi-final, before their prediction of ‘We’re going to score one more than you,’ came true in the final against the Thais. Kenny Irons scored the winner as the Three Lions’ old boys were crowned champions of the world. Hayles, player-coach with Chesham United, scored four goals and says bringing the cup home was helped by a pre-match ritual. “We had fantastic celebrations,” said Hayles. “We played well in the final. They were English conditions. The pitch was cut-up and we won a tough game 1-0. The semi-final against Scotland was really good. They’re renowned for singing in the changing rooms. So we came out into the tunnel singing ‘We’re going to score one more than you’ and I think that gave us the edge because they weren’t expecting it. We sang it in the tunnel before the final against Thailand. They were a bit taken aback as well!” [Memory says it was life long Fulham fan, Keith Allen (and father of Lily Allen) who wrote "Vindaloo" as the unnoficial England World Cup 1998 team song. Didn't it even top the charts?]
