Bobby Moore’s widow has backed the Three Lions to beat France and go on to win the World Cup.
Stephanie Moore OBE said her husband, captain of the 1966 World Cup winning England side, would be “excited” by Gareth Southgate’s team.
Mrs Moore gave the upbeat assessment of the Three Lions chances in Qatar after receiving an award at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Asked what her husband would have made of the current Three Lions team, she told the PA news agency: “I think he’d be very excited, they’re a young, vibrant team, Gareth Southgate is doing a brilliant job.
“We’re all on tenterhooks aren’t we for Saturday (when England play France in the quarter-finals).
“I personally think they we’re going to win because they’re getting better with each match.
“I think they’re a team he would have been very proud of and very excited about.
“Football was his life, his passion and then somewhere down the line there was me,” she laughed, “after all the football.”
On whether England can go all the way, she added: “I don’t see why not, I mean this World Cup has been so full of surprises and shocks hasn’t it?
“I really don’t see why not!”
Mrs Moore, founder of The Bobby Moore Fund, was honoured at the ceremony for services to bowel cancer research funding.
She set up the fund under the Cancer Research UK umbrella after her husband died of bowel cancer aged 51 in 1993.
It has since raised “just shy of £30 million for research”.
She received her gong from the Prince of Wales.
She said William asked her about the podcaster Dame Deborah James, the podcaster and campaigner who raised millions for bowel cancer charities before she died of bowel cancer in June.
She said: “We actually spoke about Dame Deborah James because she died of bowel cancer aged just 40 and I knew her, we worked together a bit.”
She praised Dame Deborah’s for raising the profile of bowel cancer through her “marvellous” campaigning.
“She really did a tremendous amount and spent those vital years that she could have spent with her family pioneering, as she did, to raise awareness which was very selfless,” she added.
The first captain of the England women’s football team, Sheila Parker MBE, also received her honour from William at the ceremony.
Mrs Parker, who captained the first England women’s team in 1972, gave advice to the current men’s team, saying: “Play forward, tackle well – yeah, just play the game.”
But she claimed the Lionesses, who won the Euro 2022, are better than Gareth Southgate’s squad.
“I think they play better than the men do,” she added.
“I think they play more football, not passing back to the defence all the time.”
National medical director of NHS England Professor Sir Stephen Powis was also honoured at the ceremony.
As was Olympic gold medalists, sailor Eilidh McIntyre MBE and BMX cyclist Bethany Shriever MBE.
Ayaz Bhuta MBE also collected his honour for services to wheelchair rugby after he won a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
