'The players loved it!' - Gareth Southgate reveals England played their own version of The Traitors at 2022 World Cup with nation gripped by celebrity show

For the uninitiated, in The Traitors contestants are secretly divided into "Faithfuls" and "Traitors" inside a castle. The Traitors aim to secretly "murder" the Faithfuls at night to steal the prize money. Meanwhile, the Faithfuls must uncover and banish the Traitors before they all become victims. At the 2022 World Cup, the England players were playing a very similar version of this, called Wolves and Villagers, and one night they were joined by a very special guest. 

During the tournament in Qatar, Robbie Williams visited the England squad at their hotel to deliver a surprise morale boost. Ahead of their quarter-final match against France, he serenaded the players by the pool with some of his hits. Williams was performing in Doha and dropped in on the team, who were reportedly delighted by his presence. And Southgate has also confirmed that Williams joined in the card game, where he playfully identified striker Harry Kane as a "werewolf". The unscheduled performance was a memorable moment for the team.

Southgate told Chris Moyles on Radio X: "It was the card version, so it was Wolves & Villages, a bit of a different theme, but same game basically. The players loved it, absolutely loved it. Conor Coady was the sort of narrator, so he brought it to the group. 

"And when we were in Qatar for the World Cup, I'd go to bed at, like, fairly early. Because I'm finished. They're all playing this game around the poolside, and you'd hear these werewolf noises coming across in the middle of the night. So yeah, they absolutely loved it. They got Robbie Williams playing it one night. He came in to sing for us and he joined in."

In Britain, The Traitors has become a sensation on BBC One, with celebrities currently playing an expanded version of the game; the final airs on Thursday evening and is expected to be watched by millions of people. 

Despite the fun of watching Robbie Williams sing and the fun  of playing a version of The Traitors, it ended up being heartache for the England player after they exited in the quarter-finals after a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to France, despite a fine performance where they often outplayed the reigning champions. 

The Three Lions topped Group B with two dominant wins over Iran (6–2) and Wales (3–0), along with a 0–0 draw against the USA. Their journey ended when captain Kane missed a late penalty that would have tied the score, just after having successfully converted an earlier spot-kick to level Wayne Rooney's all-time England scoring record. Southgate was praised for his tactical decisions throughout the tournament, especially in the 3–0 Round of 16 victory against Senegal. The Three Lions scored 13 goals in the tournament, their highest tally ever in a single edition of a major tournament. Despite the disappointing exit, the young squad, featuring exceptional players like Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, demonstrated promise, leaving many optimistic about their future.