I’m Reece James’ dad – this is how he’ll fight back to rescue England despite 10th hamstring in six years, forged by a childhood of tough standards, the car phone prank I played on him and the ’20p game’ with his sister Lauren

There was one trick that Nigel James particularly liked when trying to teach his children – budding footballers Reece, Joshua and Lauren – how to behave.

He was driving from the family home in Mortlake, near Richmond, south-west London, to where they were training or playing that day, with his siblings squeezed together in the back. Then, once he had his captive audience exactly where he wanted it, the summoning would take place.

“If I really wanted to get a message across without going overboard, I would sometimes set up a chat with a friend and have them call me while I was in the car,” says Nigel. Daily Mail Sports. “We were talking about a player and he was telling me about that player and said something like: ‘He signed a contract with a club but he has no future. The master doesn’t like him because he’s lazy and unsociable and so-so…”‘

However, this player was not available. It’s all masterfully staged; It’s a theatrical tactic to ensure their children know what they should be like if they want to pursue a career in professional football. It worked. Reece currently captains Chelsea with 26 caps for England. Lauren, 24, has played for Arsenal, Manchester United and now Chelsea, has made 40 England appearances and won the Euros in 2025.

“These are little things they have picked up over the years,” Nigel continues. ‘They’ve heard of success that works and failures that don’t. Then it’s up to the elections. The choices they have to make. Which way did they want to go?

‘Every manager Reece and Lauren have worked with, they’ve become really close to the manager, so that manager can feel like one of their special players. ‘You show off your talent, but you also have to have something where someone likes you and your personality.’

Reece pushes to be ready for England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway on Saturday

Reece, Nigel and Lauren together at Stamford Bridge – both children now play for Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel is a fan of Reece, we know that. After working together at Chelsea, Tuchel called him up for his first World Cup with England and remained in contact towards the end of last season with the 26-year-old, who is nursing his 10th hamstring injury since December 2020.

‘I crossed my fingers hoping you’d get through this,’ says Nigel of this issue between March and May, and now a nation is crossing its fingers too.

James Jnr is pushing to prove he is fit enough to feature in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway; The right-back position was problematic for Tuchel.

He started the first two group matches against Croatia (4-2 win) and Ghana (0-0 draw), only to have a scan to inform the England medical team of his hamstring tightness and to indicate he would miss ‘at least’ the next two games. This led to immediate scrutiny of Tuchel’s decision to replace the injured Tino Livramento with a central defender in Trevoh Chalobah rather than a natural full-back like Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

In James’ absence, Tuchel started Jarell Quansah at right-back against Panama (2-0 win), then started Djed Spence against DR Congo (2-1 win), with a cameo from Declan Rice. For Mexico (a 3-2 win as if any reminder was needed) Tuchel returned to Quansah, but his red card means he will miss Norway unless the FA tries to use the Trump card.

James was on the bench for the Mexico victory and perhaps that was due to adrenaline, but the England right-back looked surprisingly lively as he sprinted and jigged amid celebrations at the Azteca.

If Nigel is brought back into Norway’s starting squad, he will have full faith that his son’s mind is in the right place. This is considered one of Reece’s greatest attributes: his ability to recover from a blow. Luckily you weren’t chosen as Chelsea captain. It requires an elite mentality. Nigel helped shape this, and not just with fake car searches.

“You make a lot of decisions to get them to where they are,” says Nigel. ‘When they are young they expect you to guide them, so as the parent you call the shots. Thank God I made these decisions correctly. There are a lot of talented players who maybe some parents or some managers just didn’t get it right. There is talent, but talent will not take you all the way.

Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of James, having worked with him when he was manager at Chelsea.

James started England’s first two group matches against Croatia and Ghana but reported to the medical team with a hamstring strain.

James has suffered 10 knee injuries in the last five and a half years

‘He was always surrounded by it growing up. ‘We had friends of various ages in and out of the house and we had a good sized garden, but the most impressive thing about Mortlake was that literally at the back of our house there were fields the size of two football pitches.’

Nigel’s coaching background was useful as they had all the equipment they needed. His boys could go onto that pitch with a bag full of 25 balls, with Reece heading Joshua or volleying one after the other.

There was some tough love from Nigel, but he never wanted to be seen as a pushy parent, adding: ‘Instead of being too demanding, and there was a demand, there were times I held back and challenged them all – and the winner got 20p.’

Keepie-ups, from around the world, crossbar challenges, one-on-ones, whatever. It was fun but competitive; Neither brother allowed their younger brother to win. Lauren had to work if she wanted to get her reward; Nigel regularly had to change a £20 note into 20p coins just to keep paying.

Nigel chuckles and recalls: ‘Of the three of them, Reece was the one who loved money from a very young age. ‘He loved to rescue. He loved new boots. In his spare time, he would go to the goal and want to buy the best goalkeeper gloves.

‘He loved cricket. While saving his money, his passion was to buy new goalkeeper gloves and cricket bats. So he knew how to be a contract holder from a very young age!’

Nigel is a trusted mentor in football – for example, Chelsea asked him to help with exciting newcomer Dastan Satpayev from Kazakhstan, who turns 18 next month – and Nigel had to overcome his own challenges in his teenage years. If nothing else, he was able to pass on those experiences to the rookies he now works with, as well as Reece, Joshua, and Lauren.

‘I stopped playing,’ he explains. ‘I had a motorbike accident, I came back, I had a manager at Aldershot and he wasn’t a very nice guy. ‘It kind of broke me with the setbacks I’ve had and the fragility of your mind.’

Nigel now has his own academy: Nigel James Elite Coaching. Although he insists that enjoyment is essential, standards also need to be set

Unfortunately, 24-year-old James is no stranger to the medical department, having suffered a number of injuries throughout his career.

But he appeared to be in good spirits when he joined the celebrations following England’s victory over Mexico.

This was the catalyst for Nigel to move into coaching. He now has his own academy – Nigel James Elite Coaching – and supports a national campaign called Play Their Way. Although he insists that enjoyment is essential, standards also need to be set.

Nigel says: ‘I want to build discipline with this, because without strong discipline you’re going to create problems for yourself’ and gives an example: ‘If we start training at 6 o’clock, it’s not ‘getting up at 6 o’clock’.’

Reece was heartbroken to miss the last World Cup in Qatar. He believed he had overcome his knee problem in time, but Gareth Southgate did not want to take the risk. Tuchel pulled it off and there was a setback, but his return could solve England’s right-back dilemma. If England is going to reach the final, they will play on Saturday, Wednesday and Sunday. This could be a testing program on his hamstring, but one suspects Reece would be willing to take the risk if allowed.

‘He waited for a while LONG Nigel says “it’s time” for Reece and this first World Cup. Let’s hope it can continue on Saturday.

Nigel James supports Play Their Way, a national campaign funded by Sport England calling on coaches to embrace children-first coaching to give children more positive and enjoyable sporting experiences.