After England finally conquered their penalty juju in a major competition against Switzerland, there was only one question popping around the England camp; Who’s Emma? Cole Palmer was the first to raise the question, and soon Declan Rice joined in.
After the nervy penalty shootout win, Declan Rice posted a picture of him celebrating alongside Ivan Toney and Jude Bellingham. In the comments, Cole Palmer jumped in and wrote, ‘WHOS EMMAAAAAAAAAA’. The Arsenal star also replied with the same question with laughing emojis.
But who exactly is Emma, and what did she even do to be mentioned by the England stars? Seems a bit out of place, right? Here’s the context.
The viral question came into existence thanks to Nicole Samuels, a participant in ITV2’s reality show Love Island.
The theme of the show sees a group of singles locked on an island split into two parts; Casa Amor and Main Villa. The participants must pair with someone they fancy and throughout the season will complete difficult tasks to remain in the villa in hopes of winning £50,000.
But here’s the twist. They’ll often be subjected to tasks that’ll test their loyalty and put them in enticing situations to break each other’s trust. The latest episode’s task was that the youngest boy must snog the girl he fancies the most for five seconds.
Ciaran Davies, being eligible, went ahead with the dare and kissed fellow contestant Emma Milton. But the thing is, Ciaran was paired with Nicole. After the result was announced that the Main House won thanks to Ciaran’s bold move, Nicole raised the question, ‘Who’s Emma?’ in a screeching voice. It became a meme material thanks to the light speed of social media. And yes you guessed it right, the England players are fond of it.
By the way, this is Emma:
Aside from going viral after Nicole’s antics, Emma has a history with the England national team. Her rumoured ex-boyfriend is former England international, Nathan Redmond.
‘If I could stomach what my kids have been watching for the last two weeks, then I would have been watching Love Island,’ Gareth Southgate said in an interview in 2017. Yes, that’s how long the series is running since its inception in 2005 and returning in 2015 after a lengthy hiatus. So we can cross Gareth’s name off the suspects’ list.
The show’s popularity among the English squad is not something new. Back in 2022, Jack Grealish shared a picture of the England squad watching Love Island in a theatre room. Michael Owen‘s daughter Gemma was a participant that season.
Following the trend, the current team is also a junkie for the show. ‘Love Island — we’re big on that. The boys love it. Every night, a few of the boys come into my room, and we watch it,’ Ezri Konsa recently revealed.
So judging by Konsa’s comments, we can assume that a good chunk of the squad is fond of the show, notably Palmer and Rice. Sorry to disappoint you if you thought they’d be watching some inspirational movies or something on that line.
With the squad’s stay in Germany extended at least till Thursday, Cole Palmer and Co. will have some time to catch up with the next episode of Love Island.