ENGLAND’S Euro 2024 heroes have caught the eye with their performances on the pitch in Germany.
However, their selections of body art have also been on display during their run to the final.
The Three Lions will face off against Spain on Sunday for all the glory.
Several members of the squad have impressive collections of tattoos, with a variety of reasons behind the different pieces of ink.
The likes of Phil Foden and Kyle Walker have revealed the touching reasons behind their tattoos.
Here are the explanations behind the England stars’ body art.
The Three Lions’ number one Jordan Pickford has a full sleeve on his left arm, going from his shoulder to his wrist.
His piece consists of a prominent dagger design encased in flowers and completely covers his arm.
Daggers often symbolise a blend of strength and protection, while flowers are known to represent beauty and life.
Foden’s tattoos include two distinctive pieces on his neck.
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The midfielder has the words “Sky is the limit” going down from his left ear to the bottom of his neck.
He had the piece done in February 2022 by popular artist Gabriel Maniak, referring to the idea that nothing is impossible or beyond reach.
Meanwhile, Foden has the number 47 on the other side of his neck in reference to his Manchester City shirt number.
The 24-year-old has had the number since 2017 in a reported tribute to his grandfather Ronnie, who sadly passed away aged 47.
Foden’s City team-mate Walker also has sleeves on both his arms as well as several torso pieces.
The defender has his own name and a star on his hand, previously revealing: “The first tattoo that I ever got was ‘K. Walker’ on my hand and it actually had one star.
“But I got a lot of stick for it from my friends saying ‘well, you are only one star, is that how much you rate yourself?’”
The words “To the stars through difficulties” can also be seen on his right arm, as is a tribute to his grandfather.
Walker has an eye to show he is always looking down on him, with his grandfather having got him into football.
His strong family connection is also shown by an angel on his right shoulder for his niece who sadly passed away.
Elsewhere, Walker has his youngest son’s date of birth in Roman numerals across his torso and a matching K tattoo with his wife Annie Kilner on his ring finger.
Similarly to Walker, Ivan Toney has a large collection of tattoos across his body.
The Brentford striker’s grandparents Elma and Benjamin appear on his abs, alongside a portrait of his son Ivan Jr.
Toney has also explained the reasoning behind a portrait of Heath Ledger’s The Joker on the back of his bicep, revealing: “I’m confident, a winner, a joker and someone who will help anyone.”
His chest features the number 17, which Toney wears for both Brentford and England.
Other tattoos include a kitten, tiger, ticking timer, a crown and the word “fearless”.
Full-back Kieran Trippier has a sleeve on each of his arms as well a chest piece.
His chest art includes a huge diamond, with the birds on his back often seen as a symbol of freedom.
Trippier’s left arm sleeve is made up of a selection of smaller interconnected tattoos.
In contrast, he has a single inking of a woman on his right forearm.
Luke Shaw has a selection of small tattoos on his left arm, with one in particular standing out.
The Manchester United left-back has the Coco Pops monkey as a tribute to his son Reign.
He previously explained: “My son is obsessed with Coco Pops, he has a lot of them in the morning, I thought it would be quite cool because he is interested in my tattoos.”
John Stones has a host of tattoos, including touching tributes to his grandparents on his legs.
He has a portrait of each grandparent as well as one of himself in front of Barnsley’s Oakwell and Wembley Stadium.
Stones previously revealed his tattoos “tell a story” during an interview in April 2023.
He told the FA Cup’s social media channels: “Ones on my leg, all my grandparents.
“I lost them, they’re not with us now, so that was kind of a big one for me and then I evolved and moved round to the back and that was kind of a dream of mine to become a professional footballer.
“I ended up getting me looking at Barnsley’s stadium with Wembley behind that, which obviously is for England and that was a dream of mine.”
Stones added that his stadium piece serves as a reminder that “dreams do come true and to keep striving for them”.
Midfielder Declan Rice has two tattoos, including a sentimental tribute to his son.
He got a simple arm band tattoo in 2022, with the delicate inking visible on his left arm.
The small piece commemorates the birth of his son, who he had with his girlfriend Lauren Fryer.
It shows his name, Jude, date of birth – August 7, 2022 and the symbol of his star sign.
Rice also has his England legacy number 1241 tattooed on his left knee.
AFTER what has been a tough tournament of times, what an opportunity Gareth Southgate and his team will have to end in the best possible way, writes Jack Wilshere.
We might like a team that played better football. But it’s a results business.
Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and of course Holland would love to be where we are.
People will say we’re lucky because we’re on this side of the draw.
But we won the group. France didn’t and then ran into Spain.
You can say it wasn’t that pretty, but we’re there.
Gareth and his coaches won’t have been happy with some of the performances.
But I did like the way Gareth and his team have dealt with it.
There was no panic coming out of the camp.
Everyone gave the same message: ‘We know we can better, but we’re here still.’
And on Sunday they will be in Berlin to play Spain.
They will probably have to produce two halves of football as good as the first against Holland to beat them.
We have improved as the tournament has gone on and that is how you win things.
You want to peak in the final.
If Gareth can lead England to that major trophy we’ve all been waiting for, it will be the perfect answer to the critics and a brilliant day for us all.
Read Jack Wilshere’s England vs Holland verdict in full.
Or check out all of SunSport columnist Jack’s Euros 2024 opinions…
