England's World Cup team are playing for more than the iconic 18-carat gold trophy.
Along with fighting for pride and glory, the 23-man squad will be hoping to progress as far as they can in the competition in order to land a share of the £304 million prize money that will be distributed amongst the teams based on their performances in the tournament.
FIFA has announced that the eventual World Cup winner's football federation will be rewarded with just over £28 million, with £22 million reserved for the runners-up. While Gareth Southgate's side will have to get through some challenging games to be in with a chance of pocketing these sums, multiple reports suggest England have already been rewarded for making it through to the last 16.
The Football Association has handed out a share of £1 million (which works out as £43,478 each) for reaching the knockout stage, The Telegraph reports. The squad would reportedly have missed out on a bonus from the FA had they not made it out their group, although FIFA pays out £8 million in prize money to each country’s federation in 17th - 32nd place.
The FA has already been guaranteed £9 million for England reaching the final rounds. And there's plenty more to play for. If England win, it's believed that they will receive a share of £5 million from the total FIFA prize money, while Gareth Southgate could receive a bonus of £1.5 million if he leads the team to lift the trophy. We can only dream.
