George Seeley lifts lid on late-night World Cup celebrations and thanks Solihull Moors after 'big' Knowle performance

George Seeley revealed that he and teammate Hayden Purves had a few too many drinks as England reached the World Cup quarter-finals on Monday morning - but you wouldn’t have thought it based on their performance against National League side Solihull Moors barely 36 hours later.

A solitary first-half strike from Purves, alongside an incredibly well-spirited team performance filled with grit and determination, ensured Knowle’s famous 1-0 victory over Moors at The Robins’ Nest on Tuesday night.

To begin what ended up being an astonishing post-match interview just minutes after Knowle were serenaded by supporters as they left the pitch, it was suggested to Seeley that - going off the shift he and his team had just put in - they probably didn’t go too heavy on the beers as England produced one of their greatest-ever World Cup performances to overcome co-hosts Mexico in the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and set up a quarter-final with Norway.

The skipper’s response couldn’t have been any more emphatic.

He hit back, laughing: “I did!”

“I felt it yesterday (Monday) morning waking up. Me and Hayden [Purves], who scored the winner, were in the pub watching England and the birds were tweeting when we left,” Seeley elaborated. “But we managed to play today and we did alright didn’t we?!”

Moving on to speak about the game he had - somehow - managed to play, he said: “It’s only pre-season, so we’ve got to remain level-headed - it was a good test.

“I think if we played at Moors, on a flatter pitch, it might have been a much tougher test, but you can only play the conditions in front of you. We were very organised today, very fit again as I said after the Boldmere game. We took our chances, scored the goal at a very important time and had a few other chances too.”

Seeley continued: “Matty Horton made a few good saves in goal too - it just shows that fit sides, when they stay in games and stay organised, can make it difficult for anyone.”

Seeley, who has seen plenty of highs and lows throughout his decade at Knowle, was keen to thank Moors for playing the friendly.

Moors came agonisingly close to the EFL when they took Bromley all the way to penalties in the play-off final after an enthralling 2-2 draw at Wembley Stadium in 2024 - and the club are currently offering a deal allowing supporters a free season ticket if they are promoted to League Two within three years - so Chris Millington's side agreeing to play the friendly is quite something.

And that doesn’t take into consideration how incredible it is that Knowle are now in a position to host these kinds of games. After all, they were in Step Seven of non-league when Moors were competing in that play-off final.

“Fair play to them for coming here,” Seeley said. “You can see the amount of fans they brought - it makes a massive difference to our club, getting the numbers through the gates and supporting another local club.

“Hopefully they have another good season. It’s another local club for us and it's always good to see local clubs doing well - especially Moors.”

Summarising the meteoric rise Knowle are in the midst of by including insight from the dressing room, he added: “It’s a mad journey isn’t it? We’ve just said in the changing room - we always seem to step up to the occasion in big games.

“It’s getting a bit mental at the moment - in big games, against big teams, we always seem to produce big performances and that’s exactly what it was today.”

Full details regarding the remainder of pre-season - and our full match report from the win over Moors - can be found on the club website and across our social media channels.