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England are through to the Women’s World Cup final for the first time after a stunning 3-1 win over Australia in Sydney set up an all-European title decider against Spain on Sunday. Manager Sarina Wiegman said she was “in a fairytale” after guiding England to the final for the first time, while defender Lucy Bronze was overcome with emotion after playing in two previous semi-final defeats in 2015 and 2019. The Lionesses will play Spain on Sunday in England’s first World Cup final since 1966 and the nation is set to come to a halt as the team look to bring the game’s biggest prize back home. Meanwhile, the FA have confirmed that a plan is already in place for a statue of the England team at Wembley Stadium, while the governing body also said they would “100 per cent” reject any approach from the USA for the Lionesses manager. Follow all the reaction to England’s win against Australia in the semi-finals, get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds, including the latest third place play-off odds here: Read More England finally reach the world’s greatest stage — and that is worth celebrating England’s deadly duo have already provided the answer to the Lauren James debate How England deployed dark arts and cool heads to silence Australian noise

FIFA president Gianni Infantino feels equal pay at the Men’s and Women’s World Cups would only be a “symbol” that would not “solve anything” if additional development targets for the women’s game are not achieved. On Sunday, England will play Spain in the final for their share of an increased prize pot of 110 million US dollars (£86.1m) for this tournament, more than three times than what was on offer for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, but still significantly less than the 440 million USD (£346m) awarded at the 2022 men’s competition in Qatar. Infantino has previously outlined ambitions for prize parity by the 2026 and 2027 World Cups but two days before the conclusion of the ninth edition of the women’s showpiece, challenged stakeholders to do more. Infantino said: “Let’s really go for a full equality. Not just equal pay in the World Cup, which is a slogan that comes up every now and then. Equal pay in the World Cup, we are going in that direction already. ...this World Cup generated over 570 million US dollars in revenues, and so we broke even. We didn’t lose any money and we generated the second highest income of any sport, besides of course the men’s World Cup, at a global stage Gianni Infantino “But that would not solve anything. It might be a symbol but it would not solve anything, because it’s one month every four years and it’s a few players out of the thousands and thousands of players. We need to keep the momentum. We need to push it. We need to go for equality but we have to do it for real.” Two months before the tournament, Infantino threatened that he may be “forced not to broadcast” the World Cup in Europe’s ‘big five’ countries following what he felt were “very disappointing and simply not acceptable” offers from broadcasters, though deals were eventually done. Viewing figures have broken records in Australia, where a peak 11.5 million people – about 46 per cent of the population – tuned in to watch the Matildas play England in their semi-final, the country’s most-watched television programme of any kind since 2001 when the existing rating system was established. Back at home, the 7.3 million people who viewed the same contest on BBC One comprised the biggest UK audience of the World Cup so far, and on Friday Infantino reiterated his view that broadcasters have a part to play in the prize parity target. The 2023 tournament was expanded to 32 teams, and is also the first time the competition has been hosted by more than one country. Infantino said: “Some voices were raised, where it cost too much, we don’t make enough revenues, we will have to subsidise. “And our opinion was, well if we have to subsidise, we will subsidise, because we have to do that. “But actually, this World Cup generated over 570 million US dollars in revenues, and so we broke even. We didn’t lose any money and we generated the second highest income of any sport, besides of course the men’s World Cup, at a global stage. More than half a billion (in revenues).” The decision to include more teams initially drew scepticism that it would only highlight the disparity between lower-ranked teams and heavily-resourced nations at the top of the table. Instead, this has been one of the most competitive finals on record, guaranteed a new champion after 2011 champions Japan were eliminated at the quarter-final stage, one round after double-defending title holders the United States were sent packing in the last-16. World number four England managed just one goal against tournament debutants Haiti, 49 places below them in FIFA’s world rankings, while fellow debutants Morocco advanced to the last-16 alongside Jamaica, who were knocked out in the group stage in their only other appearance in a final. Three top-10 sides in Germany, Canada and Brazil were eliminated in the group stage, while England’s quarter-final opponents Colombia advanced to the last eight for the first time. And while breakout performances at this World Cup could lead some players to more lucrative contracts in places like Europe and the United States, FIFA’s most recent benchmarking report revealed the average league and club salaries for women worldwide was just 14,000 dollars (£11,000). Infantino demanded: “Football in general, in all the leagues and all the competitions, pay a fair price. Show that you respect women and women’s sport. You will see the feedback that will be absolutely fantastic. “We need to have more local competitions, more continental competitions, more international competitions because when you see some of the beautiful, stories that were written at this World Cup. “We need to create the conditions in the next four years for them to able to play at professional level at home. This is the biggest challenge we have to take onboard.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2018: Tyson Fury defeats Francesco Pianeta on points in Belfast Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman in front after opening round of BMW Championship Katarina Johnson-Thompson believes heptathlon world title is there for taking

The Georgia Bulldogs are in for a stressful couple of weeks, as a four-star recruit is visiting two top schools before his decision day.The Georgia Bulldogs are a recruiting powerhouse under head coach Kirby Smart, and it has helped lead the program to back-to-back national title victories. For ...

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Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham would not rule out the possibility that Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman could one day lead the England men’s team. The 53-year-old’s stock as a serial winner has risen steadily since securing the European championship trophy with her native Netherlands in 2017, then doing the same with England last summer. She has now guided England to a first-ever World Cup final, in the process becoming the only manager to do so with two different nations in the women’s showpiece after steering her home country to the same stage four years ago. Asked if Wiegman could be seen as a potential successor to Gareth Southgate, Bullingham said: “I think it’s a bit disrespectful of the Lionesses to project it as a step up. People always say it is ‘the best man for the job’ or ‘the best Englishman’.” “Why does it have to be a man? I think our answer is always it’s the best person for the job. We think Sarina is doing a great job and hope she continues doing it for a long time.” Pressed as to whether England was ready to have a woman in the top men’s seat, he added: “I think football is behind other sports in terms of lack of female coaches at the top level, and that has to change. “Do I think Sarina could do any job in football? Yes, I do. I’m really happy with the job she’s doing and I hope she stays doing that job for a long time. If at some point in the future she decides she wants to move into the men’s game, that would be a really interesting discussion but that’s for her, right? “I don’t think we should view it as a step up. If she decides at some point in the future to go in a different direction, I think she’s perfectly capable. “If and when we get a vacancy in either of our senior men’s or women’s manager positions, we would go for the best person for the job, which would be the best person capable of winning matches.” Wiegman’s current contract runs out in the summer of 2025, which would see her through England’s European title defence, with next summer’s Paris 2024 Olympics a possibility – though not a guarantee – should the new Nations League result in a qualification for Team GB. The rampant rumour mill has Wiegman shortlisted as a potential candidate to replace United States boss Vlatko Andonovski, who is expected to step down after the double-defending champions were knocked out by Sweden for a worst-ever last-16 finish. If and when we get a vacancy in either of our senior men’s or women’s manager positions, we would go for the best person for the job FA chief executive Mark Bullingham Wiegman has a strong affinity for the United States, where she played for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and was awed by the infrastructure that already existed around women’s football in late-1980s America. But asked if the FA would reject an approach should the United States come courting the three-time FIFA Best award winner, Bullingham instantly replied: “100 per cent. It is not about money. We are very, very happy with her and we feel she is happy. “We’ve seen lots of rumours, and look, she is a special talent. We know that. From our side, she’s obviously contracted through until 2025. We think she’s doing a great job. We’re obviously huge supporters of her and I think hopefully she feels the same way.” Bullingham said the FA would wait until after Wiegman takes a well-deserved post-tournament holiday before striking up any conversations about extending her stay at St George’s Park. While Bullingham believes Wiegman could have any job in football, he admitted it could still be some time before an England women’s manager would be compensated equally to his or her men’s counterpart. He added: “I think over time, I think there’s where you’ve got to get to. If you look at the disparity in the market and the income coming in, that’s why you’ve got a difference. “I would say that Sarina is, within the market she operates, well-paid. And if you look at the comparison in the men’s game, it’s a different market. I really want those markets to merge, over time, and I think that’s where you’ve got to go, but we’re not there yet.” Read More Why are England wearing blue kits for the World Cup final? FA chief Mark Bullingham says Sarina Wiegman could be an England men’s candidate US will not poach ‘special’ World Cup manager Sarina Wiegman, FA insists FA to build Wembley statue of England’s Lionesses after World Cup What time is the World Cup final on Sunday and who will England play? How England deployed dark arts and cool heads to silence Australian noise

Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham would not rule out the possibility that Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman could one day lead the England men’s team. The 53-year-old’s stock as a serial winner has risen steadily since securing the European Championship trophy with her native Netherlands in 2017, then doing the same with England last summer. She has now guided England to a first-ever World Cup final, in the process becoming the only manager to do so with two different nations in the women’s showpiece after steering her home country to the same stage four years ago. Asked if Wiegman could be seen as a potential successor to Gareth Southgate, Bullingham said: “I think it’s a bit disrespectful of the Lionesses to project it as a step up. People always say it is, ‘the best man for the job’ or, ‘the best Englishman’. “Why does it have to be a man? I think our answer is always it’s the best person for the job. We think Sarina is doing a great job and hope she continues doing it for a long time.” Pressed as to whether England was ready to have a woman in the top men’s seat, he added: “I think football is behind other sports in terms of lack of female coaches at the top level, and that has to change. “Do I think Sarina could do any job in football? Yes, I do. I’m really happy with the job she’s doing and I hope she stays doing that job for a long time. If at some point in the future she decides she wants to move into the men’s game, that would be a really interesting discussion but that’s for her, right? If and when we get a vacancy in either of our senior men’s or women’s manager positions, we would go for the best person for the job FA chief executive Mark Bullingham “I don’t think we should view it as a step up. If she decides at some point in the future to go in a different direction, I think she’s perfectly capable. “If and when we get a vacancy in either of our senior men’s or women’s manager positions, we would go for the best person for the job, which would be the best person capable of winning matches.” Wiegman’s current contract runs out in the summer of 2025, which would see her through England’s European title defence, with next summer’s Paris 2024 Olympics a possibility – though not a guarantee – should the new Nations League result in a qualification for Team GB. The rampant rumour mill has Wiegman shortlisted as a potential candidate to replace United States boss Vlatko Andonovski, who on Thursday US Soccer announced had stepped down from his position after the double-defending champions were knocked out by Sweden for a worst-ever last-16 finish. Wiegman has a strong affinity for the United States, where she played for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and was awed by the infrastructure that already existed around women’s football in late-1980s America. But asked if the FA would reject an approach should the United States come courting the three-time FIFA Best award winner, Bullingham instantly replied: “One hundred per cent. It is not about money. We are very, very happy with her and we feel she is happy. “We’ve seen lots of rumours and, look, she is a special talent. We know that. From our side, she’s obviously contracted through until 2025. We think she’s doing a great job. We’re obviously huge supporters of her and I think hopefully she feels the same way.” Bullingham said the FA would wait until after Wiegman takes a well-deserved post-tournament holiday before striking up any conversations about extending her stay at St George’s Park. While Bullingham believes Wiegman could have any job in football, he admitted it could still be some time before an England women’s manager would be compensated equally to his or her men’s counterpart. He added: “I think over time, I think there’s where you’ve got to get to. If you look at the disparity in the market and the income coming in, that’s why you’ve got a difference. “I would say that Sarina is, within the market she operates, well-paid. And if you look at the comparison in the men’s game, it’s a different market. I really want those markets to merge, over time, and I think that’s where you’ve got to go, but we’re not there yet.”

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England will go in search of a first Women’s World Cup crown when they take on Spain in the final in Sydney. Sarina Wiegman’s side progressed to a second major tournament decider in as many years with a 3-1 semi-final victory over tournament co-hosts Australia. Spain, meanwhile, set up a meeting with the Lionesses after edging out Sweden in Auckland. The final will be held at Stadium Australia and a first-time World Cup winner is guaranteed, with neither side having reached this stage of the tournament previously. While the fixture will obviously be held on a neutral ground, Spain are Team A for the final and thus have kit precedence. That means that Jorge Vilda’s team will play in their red home strip, with dark blue shorts and socks. While England might be expected to then wear their traditional white shirts, the Lionesses’ home kit now includes blue shorts after lobbying from players over concerns about wearing white during their periods. The matching shorts necessitates a change: England will wear their light blue away kit for the final, with white socks. While Wiegman’s side were dressed all in white for last summer’s Euros final at Wembley, having to wear a changed kit may be a good omen. England’s men, captained by Bobby Moore, were clad in their alternative red in 1966 as they beat West Germany (wearing white shirts) 4-2 in the final at Wembley. The Lionesses’ progress to the final means that manager Wiegman has now reached four consecutive major tournament finals. The Dutchwoman guided her native Netherlands to Euro 2017 triumph and the World Cup final two years later before taking charge of England in 2021. Read More FA to build Wembley statue of England’s Lionesses after World Cup and Euros heroics Have Spain moved past player mutiny on their run to Women’s World Cup final? USA face ‘critical’ decision amid Vlatko Andonovski’s impending exit after disastrous Women’s World Cup FA chief Mark Bullingham says Sarina Wiegman could be an England men’s candidate US will not poach ‘special’ World Cup manager Sarina Wiegman, FA insists FA to build Wembley statue of England’s Lionesses after World Cup

Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has no doubt Harry Kane will handle the scrutiny in Germany and believes he is already “inspiring” his team-mates ahead of Friday’s Bundesliga opener at Werder Bremen. Kane’s debut off the bench last Saturday failed to go to plan and his wait for a first trophy goes on after RB Leipzig inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Bayern in the DFL-Supercup. Tuchel, who was critical of his squad after the match, confirmed Kane, who signed last weekend from Tottenham for an initial £100million, would start Friday’s fixture. He told a press conference: “I don’t think it is going to be the first time in his career (he has been under pressure), so that is why he will learn to transfer the pressure into performance and stay relaxed. “It is not about life or death. It is a game, a competitive game and he has proved for about 10 years how he does it, so I am not worried about Harry. “The Harry Kane effect will not be gone (if we lose). It is the way he works in training, in the locker room, his professionalism, the way he goes about things and how humble he is in training, how keen he is in training. “The way he acts after such a game, after a loss, he is the first on the training pitch, he works with the reserve players, he is the one walking ahead who is inspiring others. That is what makes that transfer fee (worthwhile), not only his goal-scoring record but all the other things as well. “That is what really makes him a big star and all the other personalities in sport as well, so that is the Harry Kane effect and why he raises our chances of winning tomorrow massively. “Obviously we won’t win every game just because he is there and, even when the Harry Kane effect is there in full effect, it still doesn’t mean we’ll win every game, but that is why I was fighting for him to come here. As far as all the things I have seen, I really feel that it was worth it.” Tuchel faced repeated questions on Thursday about the public dressing down of his players in the wake of their defeat to Leipzig. He called on the squad to learn from Kane and his attitude after a tumultuous five months since his March appointment, with Tuchel losing more games than predecessor Julian Nagelsmann last season. “I understand this criticism was received as tough criticism, but I was honest. I was talking about the way I feel and my disappointment was really big,” Tuchel said. “After losing 3-0 it doesn’t matter what I say ,because it would go in all directions anyway. I don’t know what to say in order to please everybody and I don’t know whether I want that. “I try to be authentic and that is what I was. Maybe it wasn’t the most diplomatic way to go about things, but if I tried to be diplomatic people would have asked, ‘Was he at the right game?’ “I take it personally losing. I wish we all go about things this way and be more resilient.” The way he acts after such a game, after a loss, he is the first on the training pitch, he works with the reserve players, he is the one walking ahead who is inspiring others Thomas Tuchel on Harry Kane Tuchel will soon be boosted by the return of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who recently had a second operation after suffering a broken leg while skiing last December. Thomas Muller and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting will be part of Friday’s squad, but Bouna Sarr, Noussair Mazraoui and Serge Gnabry will need to be checked on. Tuchel added: “The small operation performed on Manuel worked and the prognosis is he will be back in (team) training in a shorter period of time than we thought so it is generally positive. “The past couple of days I saw him in training and I am not a rehab expert, but what I saw was really impressive and looked really good. “I think he will be back in team training in the next couple of weeks.”

The Football Association has revealed that a plan is already in place following Euro 2022 for a statue of the England team close to Wembley Stadium. If England beat a fine Spanish side at Stadium Australia in Sunday’s World Cup final, any statue might have to feature two trophies, given their European triumph last summer. FA CEO Mark Bullingham revealed that the governing body was already in discussions about the design, as it would sit in the footprint of Wembley Stadium. “In terms of statues, it’s something we are looking at post-Euros. We’ve made progress on that, and it would be right to have something to commemorate that success outside Wembley. It would be the whole team. “Our starting point was more for plans around a collective, but we’ll see what design ideas come up. And you can imagine the iconic images that came out of the Euros. There’s some brilliant things which could be produced. Our starting point is that it’s a brilliant team. “We’ve made progress with the discussions, but I don’t think we can announce any more than that yet. You have to go through various permissions – we’ve gone through that. The next stage is working on the design. I don’t know the timescale because it’s not in our hands, it’s obviously related to Brent Council. I’m not sure I can give you an answer on that.” Bullingham meanwhile said talks still had to take place about the bonuses the players will receive – something their success in Australia has already changed – but claimed that the initial delay was down to Fifa announcing new prize money stipulations just before they travelled. “We’re sorting it after the tournament. I think they have a very strong case before, a very strong case after, but the reality is, there’s a discussion to be had. There wasn’t a lot of time before the tournament; Fifa announced the prize money very late, and a completely different model that led to a different type of discussion, so it just means there wasn’t a lot of time. It’s more time being an issue rather than anything else. “It wasn’t an issue on bargaining position, it was more an issue on time and working through this new model, so I think we’ll get to a good resolution. “Bonuses is always a percentage of prize money, that’s always the model. I think there are lots of discussions to be had with them, but we’ve invested heavily in them and the women’s game, and we want that to continue growing. We’ve got the opportunity to have some really interesting discussions after the tournament.” Sources close to the squad would insist that those discussions still have some way to go, as the FA has not moved on its position of having a bonus structure on top of Fifa prize money. The players also feel there was still plenty of time, as illustrated by the way in which senior FA figures did not get involved “until the last minute”. There have been no further discussions during the World Cup, as all have wanted to focus on trying to win the tournament. Read More ‘Another reason to whinge’: Australian media criticise England after Matildas beaten at Women’s World Cup How England deployed dark arts and cool heads to silence Australian noise Sarina Wiegman v Jorge Vilda – a look at the coaches in Women’s World Cup final

Michael Olise has signed a new £100,000-a-week four-year deal with Crystal Palace, as Roy Hodgson has made strong arguments that the club should keep both the winger and Eberechi Eze this summer. The window has so far seen Wilf Zaha finally leave Selhurst Park, with a number of clubs trailing the two young attackers seen as their new jewels. Chelsea had been strongly pursuing Olise, much to the irritation of their south London rivals, who have been intent on keeping him. Palace have hence rewarded the French youth international with a bumper deal, on £100,000-a-week. The interest in Eze is stronger, with West Ham United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur looking at him as a top-range target for their wide positions. Hodgson has repeatedly made the argument to the club that they should seek to keep both this summer, however, if they are intent on going to the next level. Having already agreed a deal with Olise, there are attempts to do similar with Eze. Read More Nottingham Forest set high price for Brennan Johnson Premier League clubs interested as race for Jeremy Doku’s signature heats up Premier League 2023/24 predictions: Champions, top four, relegation, best signing, top scorer and more

The Football Association will resist any USA approach for Sarina Wiegman, chief executive Mark Bullingham has said. He also insisted that the ongoing players’ bonuses dispute is now merely a “matter of time” rather than detail, and revealed the FA will also seek to host the Women’s World Cup themselves. Wiegman is now one game away from a history double, as she took a senior English national team to a World Cup final for the first time. That has naturally attracted interest from the USA, whose coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned after a huge underperformance that saw the deposed world champions eliminated in the last 16. Bullingham said the FA would “100 per cent” reject any approach. “It is not about money. We are very, very happy with her and we feel she is happy. I think that is the answer. “We’ve seen lots of rumours and, look, she is a special talent. We’ve got a bit of time because obviously she’s contracted to 2025, and she’ll obviously want to have a decent holiday after this. But all I’ll say is we’re massive fans of her. We believe she’s happy, and we’d love to continue working with her for a long time.” While the US might bank on the possibility that she might want a new challenge if she does win the World Cup with England, there is also the potential ambition of doing a clean sweep with the 2026 Olympics. Bullingham meanwhile said talks still had to take place about the bonuses the players will receive – something their success in Australia has already changed – but claimed the initial delay was down to Fifa announcing new prize money stipulations just before they travelled. “We’re sorting it after the tournament. I think they have a very strong case before, a very strong case after but the reality is, there’s a discussion to be had. There wasn’t a lot of time before the tournament, Fifa announced the prize money very late and a completely different model that led to a different type of discussion so it just means there wasn’t a lot of time. It’s more time being an issue rather than anything else. “It wasn’t an issue on bargaining position, it was more an issue on time and working through this new model, so, I think we’ll get to a good resolution. “Bonuses is always a percentage of prize money, that’s always the model I think there are lots of discussions to be had with them, but we’ve invested in them heavily in them and the women’s game and we want that to continue growing. We’ve got the opportunity to have some really interesting discussions after the tournament.” Sources close to the squad would insist those discussions still have some way to go, as the FA have not moved on their position of having a bonus structure on top of Fifa prize money. The players also feel there was still plenty of time, as illusrated by how senior FA figures did not get involved “until the last minute”. There have been no further discussions during the World Cup, as all have wanted to focus on trying to win the tournament. Bullingham also said it’s a long-term plan to host a Women’s World Cup. The FA may have to wait, however, as Germany-Netherlands-Belgium are the European bid for 2027, and if they do win, it would mean a tournament on another continent in 2031. “In terms of bidding, we’re obviously conscious we’ve had a lot of tournaments,” Bullingham said. “We’ve put a bid in for Euro 2028, and that’s obviously a big commitment. We would love to host Women’s World Cup one day, don’t get any doubt on that, we’d love to do that. If you look at the landscape, you’ve got Germany and Netherlands bidding for 2027. If they’re successful, there wouldn’t be a European bid for 2031 if they aren’t successful so you want to see maybe they go again so that would potentially be the one after that. If you’re asking us whether we would like to host World Cups, of course, we would love to.” Read More ‘Another reason to whinge’: Australian media criticise England after Matildas beaten at Women’s World Cup How England deployed dark arts and cool heads to silence Australian noise Sarina Wiegman v Jorge Vilda – a look at the coaches in Women’s World Cup final FA to build Wembley statue of England’s Lionesses after World Cup Premier League looking into ‘historic’ financial issues at Chelsea Chelsea face Premier League probe over alleged financial breaches – reports