Virgin Trains have apologised to their customers after a service was delayed because the England football squad was travelling on it.

Roy Hodgson's side used a scheduled service from London Euston to Manchester to get to their training base at St George's Park in Staffordshire following their friendly win over Norway earlier this week, resulting in the train making two additional stops during its journey, as well as forcing customers out of the first class carriages because the Football Association had bulk booked the seats.

The company told the Daily Mail: "We try to accommodate the requirements of the England team when we can and we don't broadcast when they travel with us for security reasons. We apologise if any of our customers were inconvenienced."

The players boarded the train at Watford before disembarking at Lichfield Trent Valley, adding around 12 minutes to the journey.