FIFA World Cup – England v. Croatia

We don’t generally think of Great Britain as a place of slapstick humor and belly laughs.

Drollery, for sure. Subtle wit. But not slapstick and goofy props.

So it is with great pleasure that we can tell you England’s soccer team, in prepping for Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal with Croatia (2 p.m. ET, Fox), has been playing with a rubber chicken.

Not in lieu of a soccer ball, mind you. Just to keep the lads loose as the pressure mounts. As part of their warmups, the players toss a rubber chicken around and try to elude their teammates as they pass the thing back and forth. Yes, they can use their hands.

“Our physical performance coaches try to keep refreshing the warm-ups for the players and keep them stimulated, using a bit of fun to get them moving,” national team coach Gareth Southgate told ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden. “Just some mobility exercises.”

The winner of this semifinal match will go on to play France, a 1-0 winner on Tuesday over Belgium. No offense toward Croatia, but how can we not want an England-France battle for the championship? Considering they are neighbors, they sure don’t get along. They were at war in the 13th century, most of the 16th century and massive chunks of the 18th century.

That England is known as the Three Lions should have France biting the head off the rubber chicken. Those three lions represent the rulers of the Kingdom of England, the Duchy of Normandy and Duchy of Aquitane. The latter two locales are in France, ruled at times in the past by England. Mon Dieu!

Ok, so much for the history lesson and the rubber chicken circuit. Now, on to the fields of friendly strife for World Cup glory.