Olympic champion Canada has been held to a 0-0 draw by Nigeria in its Women’s World Cup opener after Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie made several key saves, including one on a penalty from Christine Sinclair

Georgia Stanway has revealed she is leaning on the support of former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick to navigate the highs and lows of England’s World Cup campaign. The Lionesses, who are bidding to reach the final of the competition for the first time, will take on tournament co-hosts Australia on Wednesday in Sydney for the right to face Spain – 2-1 victors over Sweden in Tuesday’s semi-final – in Sunday’s showpiece. Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway was introduced to “mentor” Chadwick through her agency while she was still playing for Manchester City, and speaks to him at least once a week – even from 10,000-plus miles away in New South Wales. Stanway said: “I’m not afraid to say it, I went through a time at City where it was a little bit up and down in terms of my mentality, my position, everything was changing. “(Chadwick) was my go-to in terms of getting clarity on my position, clarity on what I wanted to achieve in that season. “It’s just little things. You rely upon a good luck message before the game and he never fails. Always after the game he’s always the first to say something positive and then says, ‘Let me know when you want to talk’. It’s always on my terms, which is so understanding. “He’s honestly one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and he cares for absolutely everybody. And I think the most important thing is that he removes himself from any equation, and he’s just so focused on making sure that he improves the individual and wants them to be the utmost successful individual as a player and as a person. “I think it’s just (about) finding yourself. I’ve found what works for me, so I’m not going to change that.” Chadwick, now 42, made his senior United debut just months after Red Devils won the treble in 1999, but the joy of seeing his lifelong dream fulfilled was soon overshadowed when the teenager found himself routinely ridiculed for his appearance on the popular BBC panel show They Think It’s All Over. His mental health suffered severely. Chadwick became “obsessed” with what people might be thinking about him every time he left the house, later admitting in an interview on the club website that he “really did suffer in silence”. Chadwick, who also played for England at youth level, was privately haunted by the experience for two decades before opening up in 2020, a revelation that resulted in an apology from presenter Nick Hancock. He has since used his experience of facing adversity as fuel to help players like Stanway reach their full potential, a holistic approach that includes everything from pre-game goal-setting on the eve of matches to ensuring her Munich flat was fitted out with everything she needed. Though still just 24, Stanway has evolved into one of the leaders on Sarina Wiegman’s 23-woman squad, one of seven England players in this tournament who also featured four years ago in France, when the Lionesses were knocked out 2-1 by eventual champions the United States in their semi-final. Her maturing process has resulted in a new appreciation for facts over sometimes-misleading feelings when it comes to evaluating her own performances. Stanway said: “I am big on numbers. I could come away from the game feeling on top of the world and then my mentor could bring me back down to Earth, and say, ‘Oh, no, your passing was shocking today’. “So it’s vice-versa and it’s just kind of (about) staying level and staying consistent and being consistent in the way that I am as a person and the way that I am on the field.” England have been embraced by locals since they arrived in Australia nearly six weeks ago, but Stanway appreciates the semi-final match-up might have cooled down the warm welcome. She added: “Everyone we speak to, they always say, ‘Good luck until you play Australia’, so we’re kind of feeling that a little bit now.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We can do beautiful things – Micky van de Ven excited by Tottenham prospects Millie Bright confident England can cope with hostile atmosphere in Sydney Ben Stokes tipped to make U-turn and feature for England at World Cup

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Connor Roberts insists it is naive to expect Wales to qualify for every major tournament. Wales have reached the last two European Championships and the 2022 World Cup after ending a 58-year wait to play at a major tournament. But making Euro 2024 in Germany next summer was seriously dented by qualifying defeats to Armenia and Turkey in June. Wales travel to Latvia on Monday knowing victory is essential to maintain hopes of automatic qualification, although being a top-tier team in the last edition of the Nations League will offer them the safety net of a play-off place. “I think there’s a bit of a determination to not feel like we did after those previous two games,” said Burnley wing-back Roberts, 27, who is set to win his 50th cap at Riga’s Skonto Stadium. “The only way to not feel like that is to win the game or to play well. It’s just remembering what got us to be performing well and to qualify for big competitions and to win games before. “That is hard work and dedication, but I think we would be naive to think that we’re going to qualify for every single tournament going forward and win loads of games. “We are still a small nation in the grand scheme of things. So we have to keep our feet on the ground and realise where we’ve come from.” Wales have had a difficult 12 months since qualifying for the World Cup by beating Ukraine in a play-off final. The talismanic Gareth Bale retired after the World Cup, other senior players left the international stage, and boss Rob Page has come under scrutiny after one win in 13 games – a 1-0 home victory against Latvia in March. There were some positive signs in Thursday’s goalless friendly against South Korea, but the sight of Cardiff City Stadium little more than a third full with an attendance of 13,668 underlined Wales’ current malaise. Roberts said: “We find ourselves in a difficult position, but we’re still in with a chance (of qualifying) and all you can do is try and win the next game. “If, come the end of the campaign, it’s not good enough then we just have to move on and progress as a country and as a footballing nation.” Roberts reaches his 50-cap milestone after being something of a late developer in the game. He did not make his debut for first club Swansea until he was 22 following loan spells with varying degrees of success at Yeovil, Bristol Rovers and Middlesbrough. Roberts said: “There was many a time at Middlesbrough and Bristol where I laid in my bed on my own miles away from my family thinking ‘maybe I ain’t good enough to be a footballer’. “Now I have nearly 50 caps for my country and no-one can ever take that away from me. “I’ve had some unbelievable experiences – a World Cup, a Euros, a couple of goals and a load of happy times in the Wales jersey. So hopefully that can continue for a couple of years at least.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Scott McTominay stars again as Scotland close on Euro 2024 spot with Cyprus win Jos Buttler says England not taking any risks over fitness after heavy defeat Gareth Southgate won’t be swayed by ‘external reaction’ over Jordan Henderson

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