England soccer players adopt stray cat from Qatar, take it back home: 'Dave is welcome to the table'

England is out of the Fifa World Cup this year but that doesn't mean they are leaving empty-handed from Qatar. Players Kyle Walker and John Stones are taking with them a stray cat who was with them at their training base. The cat was known to regularly play with members of the England team. Walker and Stones became very attached to the cat. The team's journey came to an end
On Saturday, the team lost against France with a close 2-1 score in the quarter-finals. 

Stones named the cat Dave. It is said that the cat will be taken to a veterinary clinic for a blood test and for vaccinations. However, the cat will have to spend four months in quarantine before the two could get him to Manchester. “He was just there one day, so we’ve just adopted him, me and Stonesy,” said Walker, as reported by CNN. "They're still undecided as to who's having him but he's going back," said Dave's spokesperson, according to FanNation Futbol.

For Stones, Dave is always "welcome to the table." "Some people really don’t like the cat, but I love him.” They met Dave the first day they reached Qatar. Since then, "every night" apparently Dave waited for his food. Speaking about Dave at a press conference, he said, "Dave is fine. He had a little scrap with another cat the other night. I think they are fighting over territory and food. But he's doing well."

He added, "Hopefully I can stick to my promise that he will come home with us if we were to win the World Cup. Dave's fine, thank you for asking." Reportedly, cats are being seen everywhere at this year's World Cup from the stadiums, and training sessions to press conferences.

Once cats were seen on the side of the field while France's team was having its training sessions where forward Randal Kolo Muani joked that he thought his teammate Ousmane Dembele was scared of them. He said, “Yes, cats. There are cats who roam outdoors. When we eat outdoors, there are cats strolling around. And Ousmane is scared of them. It makes everyone laugh.” Meanwhile, last week Brazil forward Vinicus Jr. was interrupted by a cat while speaking at a press conference. A member of the staff team stroked the animal, before picking it up and leaving it on the side of the table. 

After England's quarter-final exit, their manager Gareth Southgate is also considering if he should stay or leave his job. He said, "These tournaments take a lot out of you, and I need time to reflect. We've done that after every tournament and that's the right thing to do," as reported by skysports. Southgate added, "I don't want to be four, five months down the line thinking I've made the wrong call. It's too important for everybody to get that wrong." However, the Football Association and England players want him to stay at least until the European Championships in Germany in 2024. In 2021, he signed a two-year contract extension which ends after Euro 2024. Southgate has always been clear that he wants to return to club management one day and if he quits his current job, he wants to be a top Champions League club in England or Europe. In the past, Southgate led England to its first World Cup semi-final in 28 years in Russia in 2018.