As the England players prepared for the World Cup, their WAGs were also hard at work – creating winning wardrobes that would look chic in the stands.

But Fifa's stadium rules have forced them to take an unlikely accessory to the tournament – a tape measure.

Strict regulation means the team's glamorous wives and girlfriends face restrictions on how big their handbags can be.

And they have had to dramatically downsize the designer purse collections they planned to take to the US, Canada and Mexico this summer.

Ellie Watkins, wife of Aston Villa striker Ollie, told her TikTok followers: 'I've been using the measuring tape for the last two weeks.'

And goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's wife Megan – who was filmed measuring bags during a shopping trip to Selfridges – joked on social media: 'We're going to make sandwich bags happen. I even know the offside rule, handbag edition.'

The directives state that clear bags must not exceed 12in by 12in, while non-clear bags are limited to 4.5in by 6.5in.

This allows security staff to quickly inspect belongings as the supporters enter stadiums.

In Dallas for England's game against Croatia last night, Mrs Watkins, 30, was spotted in the crowd wearing a black Chanel vanity case cross-body bag, costing upwards of £5,000.

Mrs Pickford also played by the rules, sporting a white Lady Dior bag worth more than £2,500.

Yesterday, the 30-year-old travelled to the US carrying a £20,000 pink-and-white Hermes Birkin which would have been too large to take into the stands. 

Despite the mother-of-three's weeks of outfit planning, she revealed her 'worst horror story' had happened just hours before the game – her luggage failed to arrive.

She was noticeably without an England jersey at last night's game, instead wearing a white vest top and a cowboy hat which featured the number '1', a nod to her husband Jordan's position.

Mrs Pickford recently revealed that her 'dream is to bring back the WAG era' of the 2006 World Cup, which saw Victoria Beckham, Coleen Rooney and Cheryl Tweedy become the centre of attention as they cheered on their other halves in Germany.

She added of this summer's competition: 'I'm not coming home without my husband and a trophy.'

Mrs Pickford and Mrs Watkins were joined by other England WAGs yesterday, including Kate Kane, 33 – wife of Harry – who took a £2,000 Chanel cross-body phone case to the fixture. Influencer Ashlyn Castro, 27, was also in the family box.

She wore a camo-print mini skirt and her boyfriend Jude Bellingham's shirt, carefully making her way to her seat while carrying drinks in both hands.