Shrewsbury's Doodle Boy wows England World Cup stars with giant artwork
Shrewsbury's Doodle Boy has hit the back of the net with England's World Cup stars, wowing them with his latest stunning artwork.
Joe Whale went to St George's Park to meet stars including captain Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish, as well as boss Gareth Southgate, as the players prepared to set off to Qatar in search of glory.
The England camp went to great lengths to give the players a boost before they flew out, including getting Prince William to present them with their team shirts and bringing legions of young fans to the HQ to cheer them as they boarded the bus to the airport.
Young Salopian Joe, aged 13, also played his part in putting smiles on players' faces with his incredible 7m by 2m doodle mural, which featured caricatures of the players, the manager, the Wembley arch, the Nike tick and more.
He has been drawing and painting since the age of three, but really began turning heads in 2020 when his amazing sketchbook art was posted online and went viral.
Man City fan Joe went to St George's Park this week with twin brother Jesse and dad Greg.
"The players were enthralled," said Greg. "Harry Kane drew on part of it and so did Saka. They were all in a bit of shock. When you see him drawing you don't realise he can do it live without a plan.
"At one point me and Jesse took a step back and were watching as Joe was drawing and there were about 10 players just watching.
"Harry Kane and Kyle Walker seemed enthralled. Aaron Ramsdale was looking at it for quite a long time. I asked him 'have you found yourself yet?' He said 'I've been looking for ages', but he was actually behind Joe, where he was working.
"I think the biggest shock for Joe was when Kyle Walker tapped him on the shoulder. He's a big Man City fan. Jesse supports Wolves so he was buzzing to meet Conor Coady.
"All the players were really supportive and really nice. They couldn't believe it and were in shock at what he could do."
Joe was asked to do the mural after receiving rave reviews for a piece he did for England's Lionesses, who won the Euros in style in the summer.
"He's signed with Nike, and they come to him with all sorts of projects," said Greg. "He did a mural for the Lionesses first for the Euros. He was asked to do one for the World Cup and he agreed to do it because him and his brother are mad about football. There was quite a lot of positivity off the back of the Lionesses piece. They loved it.
"This is probably the biggest mural he's done. He completed it in three hours. He's got the 26 players in there plus Gareth Southgate. There's so much that goes into it."
Now the players have landed in Qatar and got settled into their new surroundings, the nation waits in anticipation, hoping England can go one better than last year's Euro's.
Joe, Jesse and Greg will be cheering on the Three Lions from home in front of the TV during the tournament. Can England do it?
"I hope so," said Greg. "They've got everything they need to do it."
