Members of the England camp have been spotted using wearable tracking technology to try a gain a competitive edge at Euro 2024.
The 2024 European Championship got underway on Friday night, as hosts Germany dominated Scotland in a 5-1 victory.
England head into the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, avenging their penalty shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
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The Three Lions begin their campaign with a match against Serbia at 8pm BST on Sunday.
And, as they prepared for the match, several members of the England squad were spotted wearing a piece of technology used by several top celebrities.
During the session both Gareth Southgate and Conor Gallagher were seen with an Oura tracking ring, a piece of technology that defender John Stones has previously described as ‘addictive.’
Used by athletes to monitor their performance, the Oura ring tracks the wearer’s health via their sleep, stress levels, activity and heart rate.
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Described by an expert as ‘extremely sophisticated’ the wearable accessory can also detect blood oxygen levels and variability in skin temperature.
Speaking to Sky News, Dave Thomas, who works with England’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, said that the ring would help offer a new perspective on how players are feeling during the tournament.
He said: “In a sporting environment, you have a number of different wearables for different contexts.
"They give indications of whether [the athletes] could be about to come down with a bug or they're overloaded.
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"It can give the sports scientists or the coaches that indication that we need to back off a little bit and give them a bit of a rest."
Oura rings cost between £300-£550 and have recently become popularised by a series of A-list celebrities who have been seen wearing the trackers.
Kim Kardashian, Prince Harry and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the celebrities who use the rings to monitor their personal health.
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And Oura chief commercial officer Dorothy Kilroy has expressed the company’s excitement over the rings being used in the England camp.
She said: “We're beaming with pride when we see these elite athletes choose Oura, that's really cool."
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Topics: England, Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate, John Stones, Conor Gallagher, Football
Ben McCrum