Wharton's road to euro 2024: A brother's journey to support family
The appointment of Adam Wharton to Euro 2024 was a surprise. His closest family couldn't imagine skipping the trip from England to Germany for the tournament. However, the player's brother had to find an emergency solution because he was banned from traveling by plane.
Scott Wharton is also a footballer and plays for Blackburn Rovers. The 26-year-old player had bad luck at the end of the season in The Championship. In April, he suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery. He is unlikely to return to the field in 2024.
After knee surgery, Scott Wharton was banned from flying for two months. Six weeks had passed before Euro 2024, and the Blackburn Rovers player did not want to risk his injured leg. On the other hand, he didn't want to miss the trip to the tournament where his brother Adam Wharton represented England.
Therefore, Scott Wharton decided to take a long car journey. He had to cover about 1,000 kilometres. The fact that the England team played in Düsseldorf, located in western Germany near the Benelux countries' borders, somewhat facilitated getting to the match. It would have been worse if he had to travel to, for example, Munich.
I can't fly for two months. Therefore, we drove to Hull, then took a ferry to Rotterdam, and the second leg was the drive to Düsseldorf. I couldn't wait for this road trip. It's about my brother, but I feel like a proud dad. The whole family is incredibly proud of him because he has come a long way in a short time, said Scott Wharton in an interview with ITV.
Coach Gareth Southgate surprised everyone by appointing Adam Wharton to Euro 2024. The Crystal Palace player watched the English team's first match from the bench, in which they won 1–0 against Serbia. Perhaps he will get a chance to show himself in later matches.
The England team is also grouped with Denmark and Slovenia. Their ambitions are definitely higher than just advancing to the knockout stage. In the previous European Championships, the British team reached the final, where the penalty shootout decided their defeat to Italy.
