Three brazen England fans blagged their way into the team’s World Cup hotel and had selfies taken with the players – after telling security guards they needed the TOILET.
Pals Andy Richardson, 22, Alex Hill, 20, and Josh Pearce, 19, managed to get past 20 armed guards before going on a booze bender just feet away from the England squad.
The cheeky friends then mingled with the players and persuaded them to pose for pictures – including captain Steven Gerrard and even manager Roy Hodgson.
Snaps also show them with their arms round Daniel Sturridge, Frank Lampard, Joe Hart, Jack Wilshere, Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill.
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After chatting with the players, the three friends celebrated their coup by downing six pints of beer and polishing off a club sandwich before calmly walking out the front door.
Yesterday, Andy, from Worcester, told how they blagged their way past security at the luxury Golden Tulip hotel on Sunday by saying they needed the loo.
They then jinked their way through dozens of FA officials, hotel staff and more security guards before coming face to face with their heroes in the lobby.
The Birmingham City fan added: “I found out the England squad had just arrived in Rio so got out of bed and tried finding where they were.
“We found out it was called Royal Tulip. The taxi driver first took us to the Royal Rio Hotel and that was not it.
“Then another hotel called Golden Tulip and again they said no and then suddenly he took us on a 25-minute drive to where they were staying.
“We got out and there was armed police everywhere so we sun bathed on the beach for three hours. Then we thought ‘f**k it’ we are going in.
“There were 20 armed police and I hopped towards them saying I needed the toilet.
“They fell for the trick and suddenly we were in. Roy Hodgson was there so we started off getting a photo with him.
“Within the next three or four hours we got pictures with most the squad. We ended up having six beers and a club sandwich and we did it.
“We walked out the hotel and the Brazilian kids started shouting and running.
“They must have thought I was famous. Suddenly I had them wanting me to sign and have photos with them. What a day.”
Andy, who works at Muller Wiseman Dairies, flew out to Rio on June 5 with his two mates after they bought tickets for all England’s opening matches.
Student Alex said: “It was pretty mad to come out to Brazil and actually meet the England team. We couldn’t quite believe it when we got past the guards.
“It was all a bit of fun but makes you think about how seriously the authorities are taking security when three lads on a jolly from England can meet the players by blagging the guards.”
Speaking from the family home in Worcester, Josh’s mum Tracey Pearce, 46, added: “I was shocked when I saw the lads put the photos up on Facebook.
“But it is just like them to be cheeky and go for it.
“They wouldn’t have caused any harm and I am so glad they have got all those photos with the players to remember the trip.”
The England team landed in Rio at 8.30am on Sunday morning (8/6) after flying into a private military base from their pre-World Cup training camp in Miami.
Roy Hodgson and his squad’s official tour bus was then accompanied by a host of police outriders and vehicles as they made their way through the city to the Golden Tulip hotel on Sao Conrado beach.
A fearsome-looking team of 24 Brazilian military police also lined up at the hotel’s main reception, all carrying semi-automatic weapons and riot shields, to meet the stars as they got off the bus.
They will be on duty 24-hours a day for the month-long tournament as the team enjoy the hotel’s indoor and outdoor pools, five-star restaurants and bars.
In contrast to previous tournaments, England have just two floors of the 17-floor, 418-room hotel, with the public and fellow guests allowed to mingle freely with them.
* In May, the FA insisted it wasn’t worried about England’s World Cup hotel even though out-of-date food was seized from the Royal Tulip.
Health inspectors took 2.362kg of unusable butter as well as salmon and Parma ham. Bizarrely, the luxury venue was also fined for not providing condoms to guests.
