After a World Cup knockout game full of drama and emotion, England’s Marc Guehi dropped to his knees in prayer.
The central defender helped the Three Lions overcome co-hosts Mexico 3-2 in the Azteca Stadium to qualify for the quarter-finals, having spent much of the second half down to ten men after a sending off.
Guehi shared a picture of him praying on Instagram, with the caption “HAND OF GOD!!!” It is also a nod to Diego Maradona’s infamous handball goal at the Azteca, which knocked England out of the 1986 tournament.
The 25 year-old is known for inscribing Bible verses onto his football boots. The church leader’s son also faced disciplinary action after writing “I love Jesus” and “Jesus loves you” on rainbow armbands, during the Premier League’s LGBT inclusion campaign.
“It was an astonishing game, the atmosphere was one of the greatest I’ve ever seen,” Joe Lowther, chief executive of sports ministry Kick, told Premier Christian News.
“It's been just brilliant to see so many Christians being honest about their faith in the sports world. I can't quite remember a time like that. Players wearing their heart on their sleeve about who is most important to them, it’s been really good to see and the character of those players will be watched.”
“At Kick, young people are talking about this, there is a spiritual awakening that we're seeing across the country, and it's being expressed in the world of football, but we're also seeing it expressed in the world of children,” Lowther added, after the organisation’s annual tournament saw 300 children play football, hear the gospel and leave with a Bible.
England will take on Norway for a place in the semi-finals. Kickoff is 10pm BST, 5pm local time in Miami.