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Spain head coach Jorge Vilda batted away questions about his country’s absent stars on the eve of their World Cup final clash with England. Vilda has guided Spain to their first final amid a backdrop of controversy and rows over the treatment of the team. The showpiece game in Sydney takes place on Sunday morning, less than a year after 15 players staged a mutiny. The arguments, which broke out in September last year, threatened to derail Spain’s hopes before an uneasy peace was brokered ahead of the World Cup. Dubbed ‘Las 15’, the players who walked away were Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati, Mapi Leon, Mariona Caldentey, Sandra Panos, Claudia Pina, Lola Gallardo, Ainhoa Moraza, Nerea Eizagirre, Amaiur Sarriegi, Lucia Garcia, Ona Batlle, Leila Ouahabi, Laia Aleixandri and Andrea Pereira. If an accommodation has been reached, it appears to be a delicate one. Only three members of the 15 – Bonmati, Caldentey and Batlle – were included in Vilda’s squad for the finals. Despite the unrest and uncertainty, Spain have made it through to the final following a late win over Sweden in the last four. What we want to do tomorrow is to be the best in the world and we'll do this by winning the final Jorge Vilda Asked early on at his pre-match press conference about the relations between himself and some of his players, Vilda replied: “Next question please.” Pushed on whether not having some key players in Australia made him “sad”, Vilda seemingly ignored the line of questioning. “What we want to do tomorrow is to be the best in the world and we’ll do this by winning the final,” he said. Spain lost 2-1 to England after extra-time at the quarter-final of the Euros last summer as the Lionesses went on to lift the trophy on home soil, with Sarina Wiegman and her players looking to add further silverware on Sunday. “It was a game that we know we were on top, but the result is what counts,” Vilda said of the loss at the Amex Stadium, “Games against England really require our best. She (Wiegman) is a trainer that with her results has shown the fruits of her work, it’s not easy what she has achieved. “You don’t achieve this without excellent preparation and star players. It will be a tactical match and it’s a final that we’re going to fight with everything.” 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 2017: England win first day-night Test to be held in UK Steve Cooper feels Nottingham Forest showed a new side to them with late winner Manchester United’s new-look midfield must click quickly – Erik ten Hag

England manager Sarina Wiegman said the Lionesses will feel the support of the country back home and urged her players to play their “best game ever” when they face Spain in the World Cup final in Sydney tomorrow. The nation is set to come to a stop on Sunday morning as the Lionesses feature in England’s first World Cup final since 1966 and Wiegman said reaction to their historic success at the tournament has been a “dream”. Wiegman led England to their groundbreaking victory at the European Championships last summer and said her players are determined to create another moment that will inspire lasting change for women’s football while uniting the nation. “It’s really exciting to play the game tomorrow and we are eager to win it,” Wiegman said in her pre-match press conference at Stadium Australia. “It shows how football unites. It brings people together. "It’s incredible what happened. We felt the support, we felt the support here, but also from the other side of the world in the UK. That’s something you dream of and we hope we play our best game ever tomorrow.” Wiegman’s team have faced several challenges throughout their historic run to the World Cup final, after losing key players Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby before the tournament. Lauren James was sent off in England’s last-16 victory against Nigeria but will be available for the final after serving a two-match suspension, with Wiegman admitting the forward learned a “hard lesson” after stamping on an opponent. Wiegman said James is “ready to play again”, although the 21-year-old is likely to only start on the bench following Ella Toone’s impressive performance against Australia in the semi-finals. When asked to sum up England’s run to the World Cup final, Wiegman said her players have shown “togetherness” and” resilience”.” “The team has inspired the nation so much last year but also at the World Cup also on this stage,” Wiegman said . “Hopefully it will inspire more girls to play football, not just in England but around the world.” England captain Millie Bright said the bond between the players and their manager had grown throughout the tournament. "The longer you work together the better the connection,” Bright said. “The better you can be off the pitch, the better the conversation can be, and then we can translate that to the squad. "As much as people don’t want to face challenges, it’s part of the game, it’s part of life, and without those challenges we wouldn’t be where we are today.” Bright said every player in the team will be living out a “dream” when they walk out to play the World Cup final. “Everyone knows how big this is. It’s been players’ dreams for years. We know how big it is back home but it’s just another game. “It’s massive, but it’s for everyone. It’s an honour and a dream to come true to lead the girls out, but ultimately it’s the team.” “We have seen how hard the games have been. It’s a proud moment as a player and a woman to show the level we are at on the world’s stage. “We live in the moment. It’s a World Cup final but for us it’s another game. Our preparation remains the same. We’ve got a game plan.” Read More Women’s World Cup LIVE: England press conference updates as Australia face Sweden in third-place playoff How to watch England vs Spain: TV channel and kick-off time for Women’s World Cup final England stand on the brink of history — and a moment to change the game forever England vs Spain: Kick-off time and how to watch World Cup final on TV Women’s World Cup LIVE: England set for ‘game of our lives’ in final England stand on the brink of history — and a moment to change the game forever

Sarina Wiegman says England feel buoyed by the levels of support for the team ahead of the World Cup final. The Lionesses take on Spain on Sunday as they bid to win the trophy for the first time. Boss Wiegman said: “It’s incredible what happened. We felt the support, we felt the support here, but also from the other side of the world in the UK. That’s something that we dream of. “I feel privileged. I’m very happy in the place where I am now. There’s a lot of support, we have everything we need to perform at the highest level. It is a pleasure to work with these incredible people.” Wiegman was concise when asked how the team had reintegrated Lauren James, who could start on Sunday after serving a two-match suspension following her red card against Nigeria in the last 16. She said: “Of course she kept training and it’s really nice to have 23 players available for tomorrow.”

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England are counting down the hours until they play in their first Women’s World Cup final as Sarina Wiegman and her players prepare to face Spain for the title in Sydney on Sunday. It’s the first time the England men’s or women’s team have reached a football World Cup final since 1966, with the nation set to come to a halt as the Lionesses look to bring the game’s biggest prize back home. And manager Wiegman is well aware of the 57 years of hurt that the nation has endured and is backing her side to end that on Sunday morning. Wiegman will give a press conference this morning ahead of the final, after she confirmed she is happy as England manager and wants to see out the remainder of her contract, despite speculation linking the Lionesses boss to the United States, Meanwhile, Australia will look to finish their home World Cup on a high as they face Sweden in the third-place play-off in Brisbane. The Matildas were beaten by England in the semi-finals but will hope to sign off with a win after capturing the hearts of the nation during their record-breaking run. Follow all the build-up to England’s clash against Spain in the final, get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here and find latest tips for the game itself here. Read More Sarina Wiegman: ‘Stop talking about the result — we know what we want’ Ella Toone or Lauren James? Sarina Wiegman has already made the biggest decision of England’s World Cup Sarina Wiegman commits future to England after USA speculation

Instead of the third most expensive footballer in history, Liverpool have unveiled the third most expensive midfielder they have signed this summer and the third they targeted in swift succession. A dizzying week that began with a British record bid for Moises Caicedo ended with Romeo Lavia joining the Ecuadorian at Stamford Bridge and the arrival of Wataru Endo at Anfield, almost £100m cheaper than one of the men who preferred Chelsea to Liverpool and seemingly out of the blue. This, Jurgen Klopp accepted, was not how many supporters hoped their search for a No 6 would go. “It is a transfer that is not in the public eye,” he said. “It’s not ‘Oh my God!’ and probably nobody at this moment is texting a new song for him.” That said, though, Klopp did get a text from an influential figure in German football, congratulating him on the signing of the former VfB Stuttgart captain. If Caicedo can be billed as the new N’Golo Kante, and not merely because of the Ecuadorian’s choice of club, Klopp looked into Liverpool’s recent past for a comparison for his latest buy. He settled on perhaps the most unglamorous figure of their recent glory years, James Milner. He urged fans to look beyond the bare facts about Endo – a 30-year-old relegation firefighter in the Bundesliga – and embrace an unlikely addition. “I know how football fans are, they would prefer to bring in a player who is £110m,” he said. Normally when a manager pleads that a player should not be judged on his price tag, it is because he is costly, not cheap. “But wait: he has something that Liverpool supporters will love, definitely,” added Klopp. “He is already used to red a little bit [from Stuttgart], so that’s good, and when he puts that shirt on he will throw everything on the pitch and the people will love that, I know that. We had this with James Milner a little bit. Obviously a slightly different profile but could you respect James Milner more for playing 15 minutes at the end and just closing a game down?” Milner, Klopp added, was “one of the biggest Liverpool legends of my time and arrived here he was 29”. The German came to Anfield a few months later and since then he had only signed one outfield player in their thirties: defender Ragnar Klavan in 2016, also from a bottom-half Bundesliga club. But if Klopp has to convince the Anfield public Endo is not too near the end, he also had to persuade his employers. “The way our owners see it he was already too old when he joined Stuttgart,” he said. “The owners really want 200 games at 20 years old. That is pretty difficult. I didn’t need any kind of convincing. I know that the best time for a football player is from 27 to 33 in a normal career.” If Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai conform to the usual model for Liverpool signings in the Fenway Sports Group era, Endo is an anomaly. His new manager’s view is that the Japan captain is a young 30. “When you see him, you think ‘is he allowed to drive a car?’” Klopp asked. Certainly, a four-year contract reflects Liverpool’s belief that, like Milner before him, Endo will retain his running power deep into his thirties. His age, he feels, is a reason his new recruit was overlooked; why he is the exception to FSG’s rule. “He is a late bloomer and he improved every year since he was on the proper football screen,” he said. Klopp has always savoured an underdog tale; for him, there is much to enjoy in the way Endo took a long and winding road to Liverpool, via Shonan Bellmare, Urawa Red Diamonds, Sint-Truiden and then Stuttgart. “I am really happy these kind of stories are still possible in this crazy world of football,” he said. “It feels just right.” And Liverpool definitely feels right for Endo. “A dream come true,” said a player for whom such a move would long have seemed utterly unrealistic. After Caicedo and Lavia showed rather less enthusiasm to sign, Klopp grinned as he stressed Liverpool finally reached an agreement with “the club and the player”. There can be no pretence Endo was Liverpool’s first choice but he sought to address the perception that desperation ruled. “He was on my list from the beginning,” he said. He had watched Endo since he joined Stuttgart in 2019. He moved for him after Liverpool had just 35 per cent possession against Chelsea – “crazy,” Klopp said – when, in the absence of a specialist defensive midfielder, Mac Allister had to impersonate one. But it was such a shock that even Endo pronounced himself surprised. He is the £15m man, not the £115m midfielder. “But in the end the pitch is the same size,” Klopp said. “The player will not grow with the money he costs, it’s rather the other way around.” But even Endo has grown into a Liverpool player late in his career, Klopp is hoping he has a Milner-esque impact for a price a fraction of Caicedo’s. Read More Wataru Endo: Liverpool strengthen midfield by signing Bundesliga ‘machine’ Moises Caicedo completes Chelsea’s dream midfield — but £115m deal could haunt them Chelsea and Liverpool serve up entertaining glimpse of football without defensive midfielders

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Chris Wood climbed off the bench to score an 89th-minute winner as Nottingham Forest got their Premier League season up and running with a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United. Forest looked like being held by the Blades after Taiwo Awoniyi’s third-minute opener was cancelled out by Gus Hamer’s delightful strike shortly after half-time. But after Steve Cooper’s men had laboured in the second half, Wood, whose loan move from Newcastle was made permanent in the summer, came up with the goods near the end when he headed home. It ensured Forest won their first points of the season after defeat at Arsenal last week while the Blades have lost their opening two games on their return to the top flight after two seasons away. The Blades may feel hard done by as, after overcoming a chastening first 30 minutes, they competed well and had chances to have gone in front when the score was 1-1. The City Ground was vital in earning Forest most of the points that led them to safety last season and their home form is going to be important again considering their first four away games are against the Gunners, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City. And they made a flying start by taking the lead inside the opening three minutes. Brennan Johnson teed up Serge Aurier on the right and the defender sent in a perfect cross for Awoniyi to power home a header from six yards. Forest were completely dominant and looked a constant threat in the opening half-hour. Awoniyi almost had another but Anel Ahmedhodzic intercepted at the far post, with the pace and power of the Nigeria striker causing the visiting defence problems. He thought he should have had a penalty when he burst through and went down after tangling with Ahmedhodzic, but referee Peter Bankes waved away protests. The Blades began to enjoy some encouraging moments towards the end of the first half as Vinicius Souza’s curling effort from 20 yards was saved by Matt Turner while other promising opportunities were ended by a poor last ball. They started the second half on the front foot and were level in the 48th minute as debutant Hamer introduced himself in style following his arrival last week. Forest could not clear a corner properly and it fell to the former Coventry man 20 yards out and he sent a delicious curling effort into the top corner to send the visiting fans wild. The Blades were rampant and almost took the lead when Souza hit a first-time effort just wide. Forest had to weather the storm but they still carried a threat on the break, with the pace of Awoniyi causing problems. He looked to have regained the lead in the 55th minute when he raced clear and dinked home, but the flag went up as he was well offside. That did at least turn the tide and it was the hosts that were looking more dangerous. But some schoolboy defending from Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna, who collided with each other, handed the Blades a great chance to go in front. Benie Traore raced through but Turner got down brilliantly to keep out a low effort. Forest got their reward late on when Wood, who had come on for Awoniyi, headed home another pinpoint Aurier cross from the right.

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