Should the England team abstain from sex during the World Cup?

The players are allowed to see their partners during preparation for the match (Picture: getty/ shutterstock/ Metro)

It’s all to play for this evening as the hunky

England squad

takes the

FIFA World Cup

stage once again.

They’ll be facing off against

DR Congo

in the knockout stages, with the battle set to be England’s biggest yet. And the nation is hoping and praying they’ve done all they can to prepare.

While we’re sure some limbering up and stretching is going on in camp, we’ve been wondering if this meticulous preparation should include the squad

abstaining from sex

.

It may seem like a bit of a myth, but it’s no secret that sporting greats like

Mike Tyson

and

Amir Khan

have admitted to going without sex to prepare for a fight.

And it’s not just

boxing

where a no-sex rule seems to apply. The

New York

Knicks team owner, James Dolan, urged his

NBA players

to avoid having sex during their quest for a championship victory, which they achieved for the first time in 53 years in June.

It’s unclear if this is a rule for our beloved England footballers, too, as manager

Thomas Tuchel

reversed his ban on players’ partners visiting the team’s hotel during the tournament.

We asked two respected men’s health doctors to debunk whether England players should avoid some hanky-panky, or not.

Does no sex mean a better sportsman? (Picture: Dave Shopland/Shutterstock)

When it comes to male athletes particularly, the idea of abstaining from sex comes from a belief that this will increase testosterone levels, which can provide an athletic advantage.

Shock, it doesn’t really hold up.

‘The core myth that abstinence “banks” testosterone doesn’t hold up well,’ Dr Ben Davis, a GP specialising in men’s health and sexual medicine at Central Health

London

, tells

Metro

The doctor believes this myth largely originated from a small 2003 study, which found that after seven days of no sex, a handful of men saw a ‘modest’ testosterone increase, but there was no meaningful change in the days before, and no evidence to suggest benefits past the seven-day mark.

‘This is frequently over-interpreted online, particularly in “semen retention” and NoFap communities, into a much stronger claim than the data supports,’ Dr Davis adds.

Basically, not having a shag isn’t really going to improve your performance on the pitch.

‘It makes no practical benefit,’ Dr Jeff Foster, NHS GP and private men’s health specialist, tells

. ‘It’s more of a culture thing, and loads of coaches have said it for years, although it’s more urban legend than medical fact.’

If you don’t have sex for a while before your big sporting moment, Dr Davis says it’s more about the focus and arousal state you’ll enter into.

Preparing for each England match is key, but partners are allowed in the team hotel (Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

‘This is where it gets genuinely interesting for elite sport,’ he says. ‘Cortisol, dopamine (arousal hormones) and noradrenaline (which mobilises the brain and body for action during fight or flight) are affected by the absence of sexual activity.

‘Some athletes perform better when maintaining a higher arousal or drive state, so abstaining in the days before may help preserve that edge.’

What you might not want to do is have sex a mere couple of hours before a big game.

‘Where hormones genuinely do shift is around the sex act itself: prolactin rises, and dopamine falls after ejaculation, which is part of why people often feel sleepy and satiated afterwards,’ Dr Davis explains.

‘That’s a real, short-lived hormonal event — but it’s about post-* recovery and reward circuitry, not testosterone, and it resolves within hours.’

Both doctors agree that, as unglamorous as it is, the most important factors that impact your sporting performance are sleep, training load, nutrition, and stress management.

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‘These dwarf anything sex-related,’ Dr Davis points out. And England manager Thomas not allowing partners to stay over in the team hotel could be down to wanting his players to get some good shuteye.

Ultimately, Dr Foster explains that sex is good for you. It’s as simple as that.

‘It reduces stress, improves mood and encourages relaxation, which may support recovery between games,’ he says. ‘If performed

more than 21 times per month

, it can decrease

prostate cancer risk

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