Former England striker Peter Crouch has joked that his celebratory embrace with Harry Kane after England’s 3-2 victory over Mexico felt like a ‘Salt Bae’ moment.
Crouch, who represented the Three Lions at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup, watched England’s historic last-16 triumph at the Azteca Stadium on Monday and wildly hugged captain Kane at full-time, telling him ‘I f***ing love you’ amid the jubilant celebrations.
Kane scored what proved to be the winner from the penalty spot after Jude Bellingham’s brace in the first half, but England had to dig in to keep the World Cup hosts at bay after Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card in the 54th minute.
While being swept up in the triumphant celebrations, Crouch suddenly realised that he was drawing unwanted comparisons to viral internet personality Salt Bae, who was widely criticised for gatecrashing Argentina’s 2022 World Cup party after defeating France in the final.
Speaking to Prime Video after reflecting on the Azteca celebrations, Crouch said: ‘Harry comes over and just gives me the biggest hug ever and we’re dancing around and I’m telling him how much I love him.
‘And then I look around and it’s like a moment between me and Harry and there must have been thousands of photographers around us.
Peter Crouch has joked his celebratory embrace with Harry Kane felt like a ‘ Salt Bae’ moment
The former Spurs team-mates embraced after England’s stunning 3-2 win over Mexico
‘And then it dawned on me – I’m the f***ing new Salt Bae! I’ve gone full Salt Bae. It was one of those full kit w***er moments. I almost felt like I should’ve got the kit back on and pretended I was part of the team.
‘I was so caught up in it all. There was one point where Anthony Gordon shouts me in to sing Wonderwall with them and I was that close to doing it! Thank God I didn’t because the boys deserve all the credit – it’s like I’m jumping on the bandwagon massively! But I was just so excited by the whole situation.
‘That embrace with Harry, it felt like it was genuine. I’m just so proud of him and the team.’
Crouch and Kane were team-mates when the England captain was coming through the ranks at Tottenham, before he enjoyed his breakout season in 2014-15.
Meanwhile, Salt Bae’s influence and notoriety has fallen off a cliff since his World Cup final antics.
Salt Bae was widely criticised for gatecrashing Argentina’s World Cup celebrations in 2022
Shortly after the 2022 tournament, the celebrity chef was banned from attending the US Open Cup – America’s equivalent to the FA Cup – over his behaviour.
The steakhouse magnate, whose real name is Nusret Gokce, was widely criticised after going onto the pitch, chasing celebrities, accosting Lionel Messi and breaking rules by holding the trophy.
