Joe Hart made the day for two young England fans when he joined them at St. George’s Park for a special meeting. The Three Lions stopper spoke to Jacob Cientanni and Uzair Ahmed as part of the England Footballers Foundation’s on-going support of children’s charity Rays of Sunshine.

Jacob, 13, is living with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and brought his mum and stepdad along to share in his wish of meeting his England and goalkeeping idol.

Meanwhile, 10-year-old Uzair, who has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, was with his mother, father and older brother. The two boys took the opportunity to ask Joe questions about his England career and shared stories and goalkeeping tips.

Joe presented each of them with a signed England shirt and tickets for the England v Moldova fixture at Wembley on Friday and was impressed by the grilling he received from Jacob.

“It was nice to speak to someone who was actually interested in goalkeepers,” said Hart. “He’s a cool kid and I know a bit about his background and it’s amazing he’s here today. He’s confident and into his football. It’s the nice side of football, meeting people like that and hopefully helping as well.”

Hart added: “It’s something that is so easy for us, 20 minutes out of our day when we are here, and it means a lot to them. If you speak to any of the lads in the team, as far as England charities go, this is something we all look forward to doing.

“If you think back to when you were young, if you had the opportunity to do this then you’ll appreciate it more. To have a conversation with someone about football and really inspire young people who are going through a lot is amazing.”