Shoot-out stress that brought on baby’s birth!
FABIAN Delph said that the England penalty shoot-out against Colombia helped bring on the birth of his new baby!
And after Delph flew back to play a part in England’s quarterfinal victory over Sweden, he said that he and his wife, Natalie, had thought about giving their third daughter the middle name Samara – after the city in which the Three Lions’ historic victory took place.
England manager Gareth Southgate revealed that Delph had told Jordan Henderson that it was his penalty miss in the shoot-out which had sent his wife into labour – Delph had flown back to England to be at her bedside.
“He’s thinking of asking Hendo to be the one that christens the kid – he thinks that might have sent his wife into labour!” said the boss.
Interviewed on the BBC after England saw off Sweden, Delph confirmed: “It was the penalties that brought on the labour” – and went on to say she’s ‘like a machine, so strong mentally’ when it came to producing children.
Twitter followers were quick to seize on his words, however, as the father-of-three claimed that being at the birth of a child is a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ chance.
Delph replaced Jordan Henderson in the closing stages of the quarter-final after only arriving back in Russia on Wednesday, after being given permission for the dash by Southgate.
The England boss said ‘family comes first’ when quizzed about allowing one of his players to leave the squad.