Football is not coming home, but Dave the cat is – after Kyle Walker made good on a promise to adopt the stray who befriended the England squad.
Walker and John Stones had become particularly close to the white and tabby honorary mascot for the team at their Doha hotel HQ.
As the England team packed their bags to fly home following defeat to France, Dave was being taken to the vets to have his jabs in preparation.
However, it will be around four months before he is reunited with his friends at Manchester City under quarantine rules.
The squad, meanwhile, have already begun their journey back from their Al Wakrah hotel base.
Stones and Walker have been repeatedly asked about their feline friend in recent weeks. "Dave is fine," Walker said recently. "He had a little scrap with another cat the other night. I think they are fighting over territory and the food. But he's doing well.
"Hopefully I can stick to my promise that he will come home with us if we were to win the World Cup. Dave's fine, thank you for asking."
There were two strays in total, the other had been named Paul, but it appears he is not being adopted. Not everyone in the squad was said to be a fan of the feral felines – Bukayo Saka, in particular, was said to "jump" whenever he saw them.
But Walker said he was willing to adopt Dave, and share custody with Stones, also of City.
"I'd love to adopt him," said Walker last week. Walker listed City team-mates Stones, Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Chelsea's Raheem Sterling, as among those to welcome the cats. But the rest of the squad were sceptical as Walker allowed Dave to join them at their restaurant table while they were eating.
Phillips explained they were named Dave and Paul because the names were typical of the three players' Yorkshire background. “I think it was just the first name which sprung into Stonesy's head," he added.