The British art of understatement is an essential part of Henry Candy’s method.

“Quite nice”, “fairly pleasing” and “acceptable” are the Candy locutions for “over the moon”, while “rather disappointing” and “not quite what one had hoped for” mean “gutted”.

It is 40 years since the modest man with a wry sense of humour saddled Time Charter to victory in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, one of the most important all-aged races of the year.

The white-nosed lady with the short, purposeful, clockwork stride flashed her four bleached socks past all bar On The House when a staying on second in the 1000 Guineas of 1982.

And Candy had her spot on for the Oaks, despite being sent off a 12-1 chance under then-apprentice Billy Newnes, on account that her pedigree suggested she would not get a mile and a half.

“She was at her best in the spring of her three-year-old career probably,” Candy casually offered.

“The Oaks win was memorable. It was a job to know what her trip was, because she was by that extraordinary horse Saritamer.

“He didn’t stay at all. He was trained by Vincent O’Brien and I think he had other sprinters at the time, so he made Saritamer into a miler, but basically he was just a sprinter.”

It was easy to see why Candy had trip reservations, since the sire had won races like the Cork and Orrery (now the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes), July Cup and the Diadem. Time Charter was the first foal of her dam Centrocon, a high-class racemare who won the Lancashire Oaks.

“It was an extraordinary pedigree and it took me a while to work out that a daughter of Saritamer could actually get a mile and a half very well,” he added.

The powerfully-built bay, owned by Robert Barnett, won the 13-runner Oaks by a length from Slightly Dangerous in a record time, quicker than Golden Fleece’s Derby success a few days earlier.

“That was probably the best she’d ever been on Oaks day, which was lucky,” chuckled Candy.

“She couldn’t quite manage to give the weight away in the Nassau before it became a Group One and then she won the Sun Chariot.”

It had been expected that Time Charter would be retired at the end of her Classic campaign, yet after her performance in the Champion Stakes, which was then run at Newmarket, it was decided she would race on.

Candy said: “Her Champion Stakes was a remarkable performance. It was very, very wet. If you see pictures of it, all you can see is umbrellas.

“Billy rode her that day and he was coming through and riding his usual sort of hold-up race, when he wiped out somebody, who I think was Greville Starkey on Kalaglow.

“You could see the bubble coming out of Billy’s head saying ‘I’d better win by a long way!’.

“He gave her a smack and rousted her along, and she won by seven lengths. It was incredible. Very, very impressive.”

Time Charter took time to come to hand in the cold, wet spring of 1983 and having missed the Coronation Cup, made her second start of her four-year-old season in the Eclipse.

Newnes gave her too much to do at Sandown when finishing sixth to Solford and he was keen to make amends three weeks later at Ascot.

He never managed it. Yet Newnes owes a huge debt to journalist and broadcaster Brough Scott.

The scribe was watching work with Candy one Thursday morning from their Stone Age burial mound vantage point high on the ancient Ridgeway at Kingstone Warren, some 10 miles west of Wantage, when the then-23-year-old suffered a near fatal fall.

It was supposed to be a routine gallop for juvenile Silver Venture and his rising star jockey, yet suddenly the colt staggered and somersaulted at a three-quarter gallop.

Candy said: “Billy had a quite a major fall. His life was saved by the mighty Brough Scott up on the gallops. Brough had come to look at Time Charter and she was doing a little bit. Billy was on another horse, a two-year-old. He was having a breeze and going very rapidly, but had a heart attack and hit the ground.

“Billy was unconscious. We were a long way from the yard. This was before mobile phones existed. So I said to Brough, ‘you stick with him’, and I shot back to the office and rang to get an ambulance. Brough, to his eternal credit, realised that Billy had swallowed his tongue. So, he hooked it out and saved him.”

Scott also had to resuscitate the rider, who suffered a broken collar bone and damaged ribs, with Newnes obviously sidelined for the Ascot race.

Joe Mercer, one of the most stylish riders Britain has ever seen, came in for the ride in the King George.

“Joe actually rang up for the ride – jockeys didn’t have agents in those days – and that suited, as we were delighted to have him. It was his first time riding her,” said Candy.

The 48-year-old rang Newnes the previous day to ask the younger man’s advice. ‘Just let her settle and she will do it when you want her to’ was the answer.

And that was how it looked to those in the stands. The early gallop was slow and Time Charter lay last at Swinley Bottom. Lester Piggott took Diamond Shoal to the front. Sun Princess, the 9-4 joint-favourite was close and looking dangerous when Mercer pulled out 5-1 shot Time Charter wide for what turned out to be the winning challenge.

It was Mercer’s first Group One winner for four years.

“She wanted holding up and she wanted to come late, which he duly did. He rode the perfect race on her,” added Candy.

“It was a wonderful race to win, as were all those other Group One all-aged races.”

And this was a time when the best took on the best in the name of sport.

Candy added: “Now they duck each other. It is all so commercial. People are terrified of getting their horses beaten.

“Whereas in the old days, we used to run them and hope they won. I think she was the first filly to win half a million quid, which was a lot of money in those days.”

She won the Prix Foy with Newnes aboard again and was sent of favourite for the 26-runner Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, where she was a gallant fourth.

Time Charter’s start to her five-year-old season was disrupted by a hip injury, yet such is Candy’s mastery, he had her spot on for the Coronation Cup where Steve Cauthen’s ride was breathtaking. She travelled easily before sprinting away to a four-length success.

“She then should have been the first filly to win the Eclipse, but she got into a lot of trouble in running and got beaten a neck or something, by a very moderate horse called Sadler’s Wells,” teased Candy, tongue planted firmly in cheek.

After nine wins in a 20-race career, Time Charter became a highly successful broodmare and, having retired from the paddocks in 2001, died in her sleep at the age of 26 at Fair Winter Farm in Buckinghamshire in 2005.

“She was, I think, probably the best I’ve trained,” added Candy. “I’ve not had many horses who come close to her. She did a huge amount for us, she was a wonderful flag-bearer and she had quite a good following. I doubt I’ll have another one like her.”

Ilkay Gundogan is a midfield "heavyweight" and his arrival at Barcelona will raise the level of team-mates including Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Gavi.

That is the view of Barca great Hristo Stoichkov, who is excited by the prospect of the former Manchester City captain slotting into Xavi's title-winning side.

Barca won LaLiga for the first time since Lionel Messi's 2021 departure last season, with a young Blaugrana team finishing 10 points clear of rivals Real Madrid.

Gundogan joined Barca on a free transfer in June after helping City become just the second side to win a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, and Stoichkov hopes his experience will benefit younger team-mates. 

"I think it's fantastic because he's a great player," Stoichkov told Stats Perform. "I have always liked Gundogan as a player since he did it in Dortmund, then at City and also with his national team. 

"He is a great professional and I think he will help a lot with his experience because Barcelona have a young team. 

"Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, Gavi, [Alejandro] Balde, [Ronald] Araujo and Ansu Fati are young and having a heavyweight in the squad can help them grow."

Gundogan will have to wait for his Camp Nou debut, with Barca due to play their home games at the Estadi Olimpic while their famous home is renovated next season.

President Joan Laporta pledged to create "the best stadium in the world" as the project began in May, and Stoichkov says the work – which will include the construction of a new roof – is overdue.

"For me Camp Nou is a myth and not only from my time, but since it was built in 1957," he said. "The greatest players, coaches and presidents in history have passed through that stadium. 

"It is a symbol and a temple of world football. When I arrived at Barcelona in 1990 and left at such a huge moment and with 120,000 people shouting my name, it will always remain in my memory. 

"But it is obvious that after so many years a remodelling is necessary, and Camp Nou needed something new. 

"Thank God, Laporta in his second stage as president has managed to rebuild Camp Nou and do something new. Barcelona needed it, Catalonia needed it, FC Barcelona needed it. 

"I will always have good memories. I recently sent some friends to collect a piece of the grass, a stone and a seat so that I can put them in my museum because it was very important in my career. 

"I will always remember my first goal for Barcelona at Camp Nou against Valencia, when we won 3-1. When I saw 120,000 people shouting my name, I realised Camp Nou was a temple."

Stoichkov – who won five league titles and the 1991-92 European Cup during his time with Barca – hopes the modernisation helps the club return to the top of the continental game.

"We must recognise it is the modern era," he added. "I played in very old stadiums in England, Germany, France, Italy and Spain and today there are new cycles, new presidents, new players and everyone wanted something new. 

"Obviously when you have a first-level stadium, you like to enjoy it. This is a time when Barcelona are building a new field and a new team so that in a few years, they can win the Champions League again, which is a great wish I have."

Desert Crown is poised to return from his latest injury setback in Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes as last year’s Derby winner is one of 15 confirmed for the £1.25million Ascot contest.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of Nathaniel stormed to Classic glory at Epsom in 2022 before spending almost a year on the sidelines and made his return in the Brigadier Gerard in May where he finished second to Owen Burrows’ reopposing Hukum.

A further setback ruled him out of an intended Royal Ascot engagement but having worked on the Limekilns gallop at Newmarket on Sunday morning, he is now on course for a belated appearance at the Berkshire track in search of one of the season’s most prestigious prizes.

“He’s going OK. He worked yesterday morning and he worked nicely,” said Bruce Raymond, racing manager for owner Saeed Suhail.

“He doesn’t do a lot now, but everyone was very pleased. It was good to see him on the grass.”

There could be a rematch of this year’s Derby as Roger Varian’s Royal Ascot scorer King Of Steel will attempt to gain his revenge over his Epsom conqueror Auguste Rodin.

The dual-Classic winner is one of six in the mix for Aidan O’Brien, who could also be represented by Luxembourg, Point Lonsdale, Adelaide River, Broome and Bolshoi Ballet.

Defending champion Pyledriver will bid to enhance his fine Ascot record having landed the Hardwicke Stakes following almost a year off the track during the Royal meeting, while John and Thady Gosden’s Eclipse runner-up and Coronation Cup champion Emily Upjohn adds further spice to a race which looks like being a high-class renewal of the 12-furlong showpiece.

Others bringing strong form to the table include Ralph Beckett’s Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Westover and Stephane Wattel’s French raider Simca Mille, while William Haggas’ recent York scorer Hamish and James Ferguson’s Deauville Legend complete the line-up.

Max Verstappen’s Hungarian Grand Prix victory gave his Red Bull team a record 12th successive Formula One race win.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the dominant Dutchman and his team compare to the greats of the grid.

Prost and Senna’s record falls

Verstappen has won nine of this season’s 11 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two.

Verstappen also won last season’s final race and not since the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988 has a single team dominated to such an extent.

That season began in Brazil and while Senna was disqualified from his home race for an illegal car change, Prost took the chequered flag.

Senna won in San Marino and he and Prost shared the next four races equally before Prost recorded a home win in the French Grand Prix.

Four straight victories for Senna followed before Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger broke the streak in Italy, the only race all season not won by McLaren as they and Senna won a championship double with Prost close behind in second in the drivers’ standings.

That is the case for Verstappen and Perez this season as well, albeit with Verstappen over 100 points clear of his team-mate.

Verstappen added Bahrain and Australia to last season’s success in Abu Dhabi, alternating at the start of the season with Perez’s wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan before taking sole control.

Mercedes had three separate runs of 10 successive wins during Lewis Hamilton’s period of dominance, with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team also hitting double figures in 2002.

Magnificent seven

Since the start of May, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British and now Hungarian Grands Prix to equal the second-longest winning run for an individual driver.

Only Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins in 2013 remains for him to chase – victory in the next two races would see him equal that mark in front of his adoring home fans at August 27’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

Alberto Ascari has a claim to matching Vettel. The Italian won the last six races of the 1952 season and the Argentine Grand Prix at the start of 1953 before not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship. He went on to win the Dutch and Belgian GPs on his next two starts.

Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.

Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak.

He is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won over 93 per cent of the maximum points available with 281 of a possible 302 so far.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen’s dominance of the sport is so one-sided that he is making the rest of the grid look like they are racing in a junior category.

Verstappen took his ninth win of the season, extending Red Bull’s unbeaten streak to 11 from 11 this year with just one race remaining before the summer break.

The Dutchman, now a staggering 110 points clear in the championship, finished more than half-a-minute clear of his rivals following another supreme showing in his supreme Red Bull machine.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was runner-up – scoring consecutive podium finishes for the first time in his career – with pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton only fourth and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell sixth.

“It was like a bunch of Formula Two cars against a Formula One car,” said Wolff.

“In the F2 gang, our car was quick. The F1 car won by 33 seconds.

“We had the second quickest car today, and obviously we can talk it up and say we could have been second, but that’s irrelevant because you have a car that finished 39 seconds ahead [of Hamilton], and was probably cruising a lot of the time.

“We are going to fight back and win races and championships, but we saw the pace Max had, and that’s the bitter reality.

“But it’s a meritocracy, and as long as you’re moving within the regulations, then we need to acknowledge Red Bull has just done a better job.”

Hamilton has now gone 34 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career – while Verstappen has triumphed 24 times during the same period, moving him to 44 career wins.

Verstappen’s Red Bull set a new record of 12 consecutive wins on Sunday, with Mercedes’ unprecedented 19 victories in a single campaign under threat.

At the midway stage of this 22-round campaign, the world champions also remain on course to become the first team to complete the perfect season.

However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps – which includes a sprint race and the possibility of rain – Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was keen to guard against complacency.

Horner said: “How long can we keep this winning run going? Who knows?

“We’ve got another challenge next weekend, a sprint race, with the variable conditions of Spa. Anything can happen, so we’re really just taking it pretty much one event at a time.”

England have named an unchanged squad for the final Ashes Test of the summer with a decision now required over James Anderson’s involvement at the Kia Oval.

The Manchester weather washed out play on Sunday and wrecked England’s hopes of setting up a winner-takes-all decider this week.

The draw means Australia have retained the urn with the series at 2-1 with one Test to play, but England will try to rally as a group and win in London to ensure a second successive home Ashes ends 2-2.

An unchanged 14-man squad has been selected for the fifth Test, which begins on Thursday, and all eyes will be on what England do with Anderson.

Veteran Anderson, who will turn 41 on Sunday, has struggled to take wickets throughout the series, picking up four scalps in three Tests at an average of 76.75.

He only claimed a solitary wicket in the drawn Old Trafford match and, after being rested for England’s victory at Headingley, the return to fitness of Ollie Robinson following a back spasm will leave captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum with a tough call to make in the capital.

If Anderson is left out at the Kia Oval, it could mean he has appeared in England whites for the last time with a decision required by the seamer and the selectors regarding his role over the next 12 months with central contracts set to be handed out later this year.

Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who did struggle with stiffness towards the end of the Old Trafford Test, have impressed since being drafted into the XI while Stuart Broad is the leading wicket-taker in the whole Ashes.

Sussex seamer Robinson claimed 10 wickets in the first three Tests of the series and Josh Tongue caught the eye with his aggression in his one appearance against Australia at Lord’s.

England’s batting line-up is set to be unchanged with Moeen Ali to continue at three, but a call on Anderson and the other seamers will be made over the next two days.

Celtic have confirmed the signing of 21-year-old South Korean winger Yang Hyun-jun.

The attacking player has moved from Gangwon on a five-year contract to link up with compatriot Oh Hyeon-gyu and become Celtic’s third summer signing.

Manager Brendan Rodgers told Celtic’s website: “We’re delighted to bring Yang to the club and I’m sure he’s going to be another great addition to the squad.

“He’s a player that we’ve looked at closely and who we think will further enhance our attacking options which, of course, already include his fellow countryman Oh.

“He’s an exciting player who was the young player of the year in South Korea last season, which is an indication of his quality, and I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to having a big impact at the club.

“It’s also clear that he was very keen to make this move to Celtic so I know he’ll be delighted that everything has now been agreed and we’re really looking forward to working with him.”

Yang’s club had been hoping to keep him until the end of their season but the player made it clear he wanted an immediate transfer rather than waiting until the January transfer window.

He said: “I’m very pleased to come to Celtic and I’m looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to begin training with them.

“This is a move that I wanted to make and so it is great to be here in Scotland now as a Celtic player.

“I have spoken to Hyeon-gyu Oh who has already told me great things about the club and its supporters, so I can’t wait to meet them and play in front of them.”

There will be a continental flavour to the Qatar Sussex Stakes next week as French raider Facteur Cheval is set to take his chance in the red-hot Goodwood contest.

It will be a long journey to the Sussex Downs for the four-year-old, with trainer Jerome Reynier based near Marseille in the south of France.

However, having produced a career best when denied by a head in the Prix d’Ispahan in May, connections are keen to pick up a share of the £1million prize-fund on offer, en-route to their main objective for the second half of the campaign, the Woodbine Mile on September 16.

“Our main goal for the fall is the Woodbine Mile and we needed something to tick him over,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor, who own the gelding in partnership with Gary Barber.

“We know this is going to be an insurmountable task, but the timing is right and he is improving, so we are going to send him and see what happens.”

Facteur Cheval has won five of his 10 career stars with his biggest victory coming in the Prix Perth on his final outing last year.

Although he has failed to add to his tally this season, the son of Ribchester has held his own in three high-class events and connections retain plenty of faith in Facteur Cheval, who will be partnered for the first time by Maxime Guyon in the Qatar Goodwood Festival contest.

“Obviously we’re probably going to be running against Paddington and you can’t go into it thinking we’re going to win,” added Irwin.

“But we’ve got a lot of faith in this horse, he’s had a lot of bad luck and we’re hoping we’re going to get a better go of it this race.

“He’s going to be ridden by Maxime Guyon and he has a lot of ability. He just needs the space to run in, once he gets going he’s pretty good.”

Irwin hopes Facteur Cheval will fare better than Star Of Cozzene, who was sent to the Sussex Stakes in the early 1990s in search of testing ground and found the undulations of Goodwood too hot to handle.

“I ran a horse there in the same race in 1992 called Star Of Cozzene,” he added. “He was one of the best horses we have ever had.

“He was fantastic over here in America and I got the bright idea to send him to Europe because he loved heavy ground. He never won a race there, he placed a couple of times but it just never happened.

“When we ran him at Goodwood, he had never run without toe wraps before and he just slid down the hill, he must have been 25 lengths off the lead at one stage and ran sixth. So I know what a difficult place Goodwood is.”

Open champion Brian Harman says making his Ryder Cup debut would “mean the world” to him following his dominant victory at Royal Liverpool.

Yet when he recovers from the after-effects of drinking a celebratory Guinness or two from the Claret Jug, Harman will be able to ponder the welcome prospect of a longed-for debut in the biennial event in Rome.

Harman’s six-shot victory lifted him from 20th in the standings into the top six automatic qualifying places and effectively ends the two-time Walker Cup winner’s long wait for a Ryder Cup debut.

“I’ve spent I don’t know how many years chasing,” Harman said following the second round of 65 which provided the springboard for his first major title.

“It always seems it’s right there at the end and I end up in between 13th and 18th on the list and I’m hoping for a pick. It would mean the world to me to play on the Ryder Cup team. I think I would do very well.”

Speaking after lifting the Claret Jug, the 36-year-old left-hander added: “I enjoy match play. I’ve done well in all the match play tournaments I’ve played in.

“I had a really good junior record and amateur record in match play. I enjoy the head-to-head competition.

“I had a lot of success as a junior golfer. I won the US Junior and then as an amateur I was the number one ranked amateur in the world for a good while, was the youngest American to get picked for the Walker Cup.

“I had success. Like I had the pedigree. Then I got to college and it just kind of sputtered a little bit. I just didn’t keep up the progression.

“My pro career has been really good at times and not good at times. Last year felt like I kind of found something a little bit, and yeah, man, it’s been great.”

Harman’s performance at Hoylake means he will not be needing to rely on a wild card to make the trip to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, although his chances may have been better than imagined given the identity of the US captain.

“He’s a really good friend of mine,” Zach Johnson said after carding a closing 74 on Sunday.

“We live on St. Simons Island. I’ve known him for years. Great family, great wife, great kids. The Harmans are dear friends of mine.

“What is transpiring the last couple tournaments he’s played in does not surprise me in the least. He is a very formidable competitor, number one.

“Number two, hey, what does Brian Harman do really well? Well, he does everything quite well. He’s a very good driver of the golf ball and a very, very, very good putter.

“Then if everything else is good, then it can be pretty lethal. Our games are very similar except for the fact that he stands on the wrong side of the golf ball.

“He hits it a little further. He’s gritty. He’s got a great ensemble of coaches and a team.

“He’s still young enough and competitive enough that I think there’s still room for improvement in his game, which is pretty scary because I think he’s really, really good.”

Liverpool have landed two midfielders perfectly fit for their system in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, according to Reds legend John Barnes.

Jurgen Klopp secured the services of Mac Allister for a reported initial £35million from Brighton and Hove Albion, while Szoboszlai arrived from RB Leipzig for £60m (€69m) ahead of the 2023-24 season.

The pair will likely be utilised as multi-functional midfielders, adding energy to an ageing Liverpool midfield, which is expected to lose Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia.

Having initially played as a winger before moving to a central role, Barnes believes the versatility of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai makes the duo a tailormade fit for Klopp's men.

"Last season I think it was fairly apparent that we needed midfield players," Barnes told Stats Perform. "Of course, what you do is you use every opportunity to get who you can.

"So, in the strikers that we've got, I think that bodes well for the future. But I think you can see that we were a little bit short in midfield from an age perspective but also from a quality and intensity perspective.

"We knew we were going to lose two or three midfield players, so they are welcome additions to the squad from a positional point of view and also from the quality point of view too."

Mac Allister was also the only player to average two-plus shots (2.68), two-plus tackles (2.18) and 50+ passes (56.2) per 90 minutes in last term's Premier League, among players with 1,000 or more minutes.

That all-round approach and energetic demeanour makes the 24-year-old a suitable fit for Klopp's high-pressing philosophy, in the opinion of Barnes.

"It's not all about what impresses me, but he's the type of player who will suit our style," Barnes said of Mac Allister, who hit 10 league goals for Brighton last term.

"He may not be able to play for Manchester City but that doesn't mean he's better or worse. It's just that we have to sign players that suit our style and are hardworking all-action midfield players.

"He's not a Bernardo Silva type, but he suits what we want. Liverpool have always done that and looked to get players who suit their system, regardless of how other good other people think they are, or not.

"He suits our midfield profile and the template of a midfield player that we want. Hardworking, aggression and playing the ball forward quickly. He suits our style perfectly."

While Mac Allister impressed for Brighton and also Argentina during their triumphant World Cup campaign in Qatar, Szoboszlai arrives as a lesser-known star on English soil.

The Hungary international again fits Klopp's criteria for free-flowing aggressive football, having been involved in 163 open play shot-ending sequences in last season's Bundesliga – 49 shots, 48 chances created, 66 in the build-up – the fourth-highest figure of any player.

Barnes added: "I haven't seen much of him. But once again, you look at him in terms of his size, his aggression, his ability to get up and down.

"And once again, I trust in Jurgen Klopp and the staff to know exactly what they want. Not many people have heard of him, I'm one who didn't hear of him but they would have done their homework on him.

"So I have faith in them because they know the type of player they want. As I said, I haven't seen much of him but he seems to be quite impressive."

England defender Lucy Bronze is drawing on the experience of her first World Cup eight years ago to allay fears that the Lionesses did not play like favourites in their 1-0 opening victory against Haiti in Brisbane.

That win, sealed by Georgia Stanway’s twice-taken penalty against a side 49 places below England in the FIFA rankings, extended the Lionesses’ streak without a goal from open play to three games, including their 0-0 behind-closed-doors pre-tournament training match with Canada.

Bronze made her World Cup debut at the 2015 tournament, where England fell to France in their opener but ultimately finished up with the third-place medal for their best-ever finish in a global showpiece.

She said: “Well, in my first World Cup we lost the first game and ended finishing third. There’s only so much you can take from the game. The most important thing is it gives us momentum but it’s better than having to chase points and we get to focus on the next two games.

“We’re playing against players we’ve never played before. It takes a little while to get into those games. Once we got going you saw England coming back to life again. We need to do that more for longer.”

Bronze had no doubt Stanway would step up to the spot twice on Saturday, after her initial penalty was saved by Haiti’s 5ft 4in goalkeeper Kerly Theus.

That would have left Stanway with a career record of six penalties scored and two missed, but she was given another chance after the referee ruled Theus had come off her line.

Bronze had full faith in Stanway to put the ball in the back of the net with her second opportunity, which the Bayern Munich midfielder did handily.

She said: “I don’t think anyone doubted that Georgia would take it. We just picked it up and gave it to her. She doesn’t need any encouragement to do that. Georgia is not the type of player that needs telling what to do or is lacking confidence. We all knew that a second chance was enough for her to bury it.”

England, who have now checked into their World Cup base on the New South Wales’ Central Coast, next face world number 13 Denmark on Friday in Sydney before taking on 14th-placed China in Adelaide to conclude the group stage, with the top two teams advancing to the last 16.

Bronze’s team-mate Alessia Russo, who on Saturday was favoured for the centre-forward role by Sarina Wiegman over Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner Rachel Daly, was one of the only England players to admit their first half against Haiti looked a bit rusty.

She said: “Yeah, I think so. Us as players are the first to recognise that. We’ll be back to training this week and training hard to push on now but tournaments are always about winning and that’s the most important thing.

“I don’t think I ever worry about goals and winning with this team. I think we’ve got a very special talented squad and I know that people show up at the right times.

“The first game, we’ve been building up to it for a long time. It’s done now, three points under the belt. Now we really push on. Moments were good and we’ll reflect on it, we’ll analyse and we’ll be ready for Denmark.”