England Women midfielder Katie Chapman has revealed that she received a surprise visit from her sons while preparing for a match at the Women's World Cup in Canada.
The 33-year-old, who has three sons with husband Mark, had decided that it would be too expensive to take her children to Canada for up to six weeks.
However, the Chelsea Ladies player told The Express: "If I'm away from the children for any length of time I miss them terribly. It would have been lovely for them to come over here so I could see them, but I'd decided with Mark that we couldn't do it money-wise.
"But then one day I went down from my hotel room and they were standing there. I had no clue whatsoever they were coming, so it was a massive surprise, I just stood there and cried. To come down and see them was overwhelming. It was the day of Zachary's birthday and I was able to see them all that evening after the Mexico game and sing Happy Birthday to him.
"That was really lovely that, really special. I needed that. Mark's a really hands-on dad. We're very busy parents but he felt that strongly about wanting to bring the boys over to see me. I didn't want to miss Zachary's second birthday, so that was a real bonus for me."
England face host nation Canada in the quarter-finals of the tournament at the weekend.
Sian Cowper
