An England player turned down a World Cup call-up because he didn't want to leave home.
The 2026 World Cup in North America is just a few months away as the Three Lions are among the favourites to raise gold. They haven't won the tournament since their only triumph in 1966 but are tipped by many to go all the way.
Ahead of flying across the pond, Thomas Tuchel has named his 26-man England squad, having made a series of big decisions.
England have endured mixed results at the World Cup since winning it on home soil over 50 years ago. They reached the semi-finals in 1990 and 2018, but failed to get out of the group stage in 2014.
Their World Cup campaign in South Africa in 2010 was another memorable outing, but for all the wrong reasons.
They scraped through to the knockout stage before succumbing to old rivals Germany in the last-16, losing 4-1.
Stephen Warnock was a part of the England squad in South Africa, but he didn't think he'd be involved until Leighton Baines decided to turn down a call-up.
Stephen Warnock on 2010 World Cup Call-Up
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Warnock, who was playing for Aston Villa at the time, earned a spot in Fabio Capello's squad and loved every minute of his experience, given that he wasn't expected to go to the 2010 World Cup.
"I absolutely loved it and a lot of people talk about South Africa and how it was so remote and out of the way. I had a Carlsberg ticket. I was sat in the front row of every game," he said on In The Mixer — brought to you by Sky Bet.
"I was sat in the changing room listening to the best players try and work out how to beat a team, watching the players train at the highest level. Who wouldn't want to be there?
Warnock added: "The thing was, I didn't think I was going to go. We had two warm-up games. One of them we played Japan. I didn't play in either. Ash [Cole] played in one and Bainsey played in the other."
Why Leighton Baines Turned Down World Cup
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Warnock, who came through Liverpool's youth academy, got his World Cup opportunity because Baines didn't want to be away from home.
"I thought, 'I'm not going. That's me done'. Then I got a phone call when he got back...," he explained.
Joleon Lescott chimed in, saying: "Bainsey didn't want to go, did he? He said, 'Nah, that ain't for me'."
Warnock continued:
"He didn't want to be away from home."
Lescott said: "Bainsey wasn't on that. He didn't like it. He was close to going to Bayern Munich. Like really close. They really wanted him. Desperately wanted Leighton Baines."
Warnock added: "There was a point before I went to Villa, I was at Blackburn and Bainsey was going to go to Villa and I was going to go to Everton from Blackburn. But Bainesy was just like, 'I don't really fancy it.' He didn't want to move. I mean, a lot of Scousers are like that."
Baines, who spent 13 seasons at Everton, earned 30 England caps during his professional career. He made his senior international debut in 2010 and won his last cap in 2015.