Rishi Sunak would have “loved to” have watched the Lionesses in the Word Cup final but has “a huge amount of work to do”, a minister has said. Claire Couthinho claimed the prime minister would also not have flown to the World Cup final if the men’s team were playing because he is “so busy”. Asked whether the PM would have made the trip to Sydney, Australia if Gareth Southgate’s team were in the final two, the children’s minister said she did “not think he would have”. “But I do know how proud he is of the Lionesses like we all are, it’s such a tremendous achievement, it was absolutely just brilliant to see,” she told Sky News. Defending Mr Sunak over claims he was paying lip service to the women’s game by not attending, Ms Couthinho said: “The foreign secretary was there and the culture secretary was also there. “This government was represented. And I know that the prime minister would have loved to have been there but he’s also got a huge amount of work to do. “And I think the travel time is probably difficult. But I know how proud he is of the Lionesses. “We all are. It’s an amazing achievement to get to a World Cup final. It’s absolutely extraordinary.” It came as World Cup legend Sir Geoff Hurst said a member of the royal family “should definitely” have attended the final. Asked if a member of the royal family not attending was a mistake, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Yes, I do. I think if the royals attend the men’s game, they should definitely. “It’s an English team, a World Cup tournament, a member of the royal family should definitely have gone. “No argument at all about that.” Mr Sunak and the Prince of Wales faced a significant backlash over their decision not to attend the World Cup final in Australia, when England lost 1-0 to Spain. Critics argued the pay would travel to the game if the men’s team reached a World Cup final. Ms Coutinho went on to tell LBC that Mr Sunak is a “huge football fan” and a “big” fan of Southampton. “And he’s got two daughters. And he’s been so excited about the Lionesses,” she said. Asked which football team the PM supports, Ms Coutinho said: “The Southampton team. Is that the Saints? Yeah, he is a big Saints fan.” William and the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis watched the game together at their Anmer Hall country home in Sandringham, Norfolk. Read More Lionesses have ‘inspired millions’ despite falling short in first World Cup final Lionesses thanked for ‘inspiring millions’ as World Cup final set to give £185m boost to UK economy William and King tell Lionesses of nation’s pride despite World Cup final loss William and PM face running backlash over absence from World Cup final Prince William shares message after criticism for missing women’s World Cup Final ‘Disappointing’: Prince William blasted by Lionesses fans for missing Women’s World Cup final in Australia

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The Women’s World Cup continues as the Republic of Ireland fight to keep their hopes alive against Olympic champions Canada in a pivotal Group B clash. Defeat would put Ireland on the brink of elimination following their opening loss to co-hosts Australia, while Canada are looking to bounce back from their draw against Nigeria. Elsewhere today, both Spain and Japan qualified for the last-16 with a match to spare as they continued their impressive early form in Group C. Japan cruised to a 2-0 win against Costa Rica before Spain thrashed Zambia 5-0, with both teams moving to six points to advance to the knockout stages. Monday’s meeting between Spain and Japan will decide who goes through as group winners, while Zambia and Costa Rica are already out with a match left to play. On Tuesday, co-hosts New Zealand were stunned by debutants Philippines, who claimed their first ever victory at the tournament with a 1-0 win in Wellington. The result blew Group A wide open and all four teams are still able to advance after Norway were held to a goalless draw by Switzerland in the day’s late kick-off. Follow the latest World Cup scores, updates and news in today’s live blog Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup? When do England women play next? World Cup fixtures and route to the final

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