England goalkeeper Mary Earps hailed “mastermind” Sarina Wiegman whose system switch-up stirred the Lionesses to life and ensured they launched themselves into the World Cup’s knockout phase with a perfect record.

Wiegman’s move from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 formation in the absence of injured midfielder Keira Walsh inspired a 6-1 victory over China to conclude the group stage and set up a last-16 meeting with Nigeria in Brisbane.

And there was more hopeful news for Lionesses fans on Friday morning after it was revealed Walsh stepped up her recovery from the knee injury she sustained against Denmark, and was following an individual programme whilst her 22 team-mates trained together at the Central Coast Stadium.

Asked if the new system had been in the works for a while, Earps replied: “No, not really, I mean obviously Sarina is the mastermind behind all the tactics and the formations, so yes, we just do as we’re told, we get in formation, do our job to the best of our ability and it paid off for us.”

The European champions, ranked fourth in the world, got off to a much nervier campaign than most expected after eking out a 1-0 win against Haiti, 49 places below them, while Lauren James’ first goal in a World Cup was the only scored by either side as England beat Denmark.

Tuesday’s China encounter saw the Lionesses turn over a new leaf as the attack came alive with five different goalscorers, including a brace for Chelsea’s James.

Earps agreed England were growing into the tournament, saying: “The proof is in the pudding. The proof is what happens come game day, and the most important thing is that we’ve won three out of three.

“I know that maybe the results haven’t been as maybe people would have wanted, but we’re playing at a World Cup at the end of the day.

“This is the creme de la creme, this is the top, so I think that we know what we’re capable of, we’re just focused on one game at a time and getting the job done. So yes, that’s what we did.”

Whether Walsh will feature again in this World Cup is still up in the air, but in her absence, England and Wiegman have added unpredictability to their arsenal of weapons, unlocking the ability not just to dominate but also discombobulate their future opponents.

Should the Lionesses get the job done against 40th-ranked Nigeria on Monday it will be one of Colombia or Jamaica in a Sydney quarter-final, a test England at least on paper look perfectly primed to pass.

A place in the final four could see them face debutants Morocco, defying the odds ranked 72nd in the world, tournament co-hosts Australia or a formidable French side who sit only one place below them in FIFA’s rankings.

Earps feels England are capable of beating them all.

She added: “I don’t think we fear anyone in general anyway. I think our qualities have shown through in however many months and years we’ve been playing together, so I think we’re in a good spot.

“As long as we’re keeping the wins on the board, then no complaints here.”

Little Big Bear will miss out on a planned appearance in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on Sunday after suffering a stone bruise.

The No Nay Never colt was brilliant in winning four of his five starts as as a juvenile, but his three-year-old campaign has so far not quite gone according to plan.

Aidan O’Brien’s charge returned lame after contesting the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket – and while he bounced back to winning ways in the Sandy Lane at Haydock under Frankie Dettori, he had to make do with the runner-up spot behind Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

Having subsequently endured a nightmare passage in the July Cup, Little Big Bear was on Thursday supplemented for the Deauville feature at a cost of almost €30,000. However, he was not declared on Friday morning and O’Brien revealed why he we will not be making the trip to France this weekend.

“He just has a stone bruise so he doesn’t run,” said the Ballydoyle handler.

In Little Big Bear’s absence a field of 10 are set to go to post for the six-and-a-half-furlong Group One, including a seven-strong British contingent.

The raiding party is headed Tim Easterby’s Art Power, who a fortnight ago won the Group Two Sapphire Stakes to maintain his unbeaten record at the Curragh.

Karl Burke saddles Hackwood Stakes third Cold Case as well as Spycatcher, who heads back across the Channel following a Group Three success at Deauville four weeks ago.

Archie Watson’s Saint Lawrence, the David Evans-trained Rohaan, Andrew Balding’s Sandrine and Brad The Brief from Hugo Palmer’s yard are also in the mix.

Alberta has given the Commonwealth Games its latest setback after the Canadian province pulled the plug on a possible bid to stage the 2030 event.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the key issues in this story.

What has happened?

Just a couple of weeks on from the Australian state of Victoria abruptly withdrawing as hosts for the 2026 Commonwealth Games citing rising costs, the government of Alberta announced a halt to its attempt to bring the 2030 event to cities Calgary and Edmonton.

Alberta’s Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow has baulked at an estimated price tag of up to £1.57billion, a bill which he says would have been landed largely at the feet of the taxpayers.

How bad is this latest news?

Alberta had not been awarded the Games, merely mulling over whether to submit an offer, whereas the Commonwealth Games Federation is scrambling to find a replacement for Victoria in three years’ time.

But Alberta stepping away comes a few months after Hamilton, Ontario – which hosted the inaugural Games in 1930 – suspended its effort for a centenary event because of a lack of government support.

Right now, the Commonwealth Games has no host for 2026, one fewer suitor in a shallow pool of choices for 2030, while its overall viability and relevance in the modern world is coming under increasing scrutiny.

What can be done to entice bidders?

Organisers have attempted to provide hosts with flexibility to keep costs down, while the CGF is keen to work with international sports federations on providing a global showcase for their new innovations.

Birmingham 2022 broke new ground with the introduction of 3×3 basketball, with T20 women’s cricket also making its debut at a multi-sport event and setting world attendance records.

Is staging the Commonwealth Games too costly?

The costs set out by Victoria of up to £3.6bn, if correct, are eye-watering and way above the cost of staging Birmingham 2022 – put at £778million by the British Government, which is just over half of what put Alberta off.

However, the CGF argues Victoria’s approach to hosting was a factor in some of those costs. It chose, for example, not to use existing sports facilities in Melbourne in favour of developing temporary sites in the regional state hubs it planned to use for the Games.

Victoria was the first Games host that was able to benefit from a new CGF hosting ‘roadmap’ which, among other things, reduced the number of compulsory sports from 16 to two and removed the requirement to provide a bespoke athletes’ village.

The British Government and Birmingham City Council would disagree that staging a Games has to be a money pit.

An independent report published in January this year said Birmingham 2022 had contributed £870.7m to the UK economy, with over half the economic impact generated (£453.7million) benefiting businesses and communities across the West Midlands.

Who could host in 2026?

CGF chief executive Katie Sadleir said last month all options will be considered, including the UK.

“The UK are fantastic hosts and we would be very open to having a conversation with them about it, if that’s something they would be interested in doing,” she told the PA news agency.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said he hoped a “viable solution” could be found for Australia to host the Games. Asked if the British Government would encourage a UK bid, the spokesman said: “We are getting slightly ahead of ourselves.”

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf told PA: “Let’s see what’s possible, but I think it will be quite challenging.”

Gold Coast, which staged the Games in 2018, seems readier to step in. Tom Tate, the city’s mayor, said in quotes reported by ABC in Australia recently: “The premier of Victoria’s lemon, the Gold Coast can turn that into lemonade because that’s how we roll.”

Julie Camacho’s July Cup winner Shaquille will begin fast work this weekend as he gears up for the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.

Winner of the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, the Charm Spirit three-year-old followed up with a second Group One success at Newmarket to take his record to seven wins from eight starts.

Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant, says there has been plenty of big-money interest from potential suitors for the champion sprinter-elect, although any decision will be left to co-owner and joint-breeder Martin Hughes.

“There has been lots of interest in him,” he admitted. “We have directed that down to Martin. He’s waded through it and I think he’s keen to do something more towards the end of the year, really.

“He said pretty early on it was something we’d discuss at the end of the year and we should just get on and enjoy the racing for now in the short term.

“There are lots of scenarios, but he’s been wonderful whatever happens.”

Shaquille has taken his length-and-a-half defeat of Run To Freedom in his stride and the team at Malton in North Yorkshire are now eyeing a Group One treble on September 9.

“Shaquille is in really good form. We purposely gave him a quiet couple of weeks after Newmarket which was always the plan,” added Brown.

“He has been grateful of that I think. He looks well and it has freshened him up. He was pretty quiet for a week there and gradually you could see he was getting over things. He has regrouped nicely and is back cantering.

“We are very pleased with him. He is a very straightforward horse at home and he will do his first bit of fast work on Saturday.

“We are all systems go to Haydock and we’re looking forward to it.

“He unfortunately gives himself a little bit of a tougher time than he might have if he was a little bit more conventional in his use of energy, but he doesn’t.

“He has a great will and a great way of getting the job done. He’s a determined sort of horse, but it is not always as conventional as it might be.”

Options remain open for the colt after the Sprint Cup, although the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot is a more likely option than heading to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup.

“I would think the obvious route would be to go to Champions Day,” said Brown. “We’ve obviously had a little bit of interest in the possibility of going abroad this year, but I think we will be staying at home and probably go to Ascot.

“We’ll go a step at a time, but it will have been a long year by then and he’s still three-year-old and we have to be mindful of that.

“The Breeders’ Cup has been mentioned, but the thing you’d be slightly guarded about at the minute is he’s slow-starting.

“The gate-speed of the Americans, they are so quickly away that I think we’d be at a real disadvantage there.

“The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is five (furlongs) and the dirt is six – we’d probably want it the other way round.

“But we’ll take a step at a time and we’ll know more after Haydock and go from there. You have to keep an open mind.”

Double World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis confesses even she is blown away by the utter unpredictability of the 2023 tournament, which has already seen six top-20 sides bow out at the group stage.

The most shocking of those upsets came on Thursday night, when world number two Germany were dumped from Group H after never failing to reach the quarter-finals in eight previous tournaments.

Counter to the disappointed faces of the two-time champions were those of group rivals and debutants Morocco who, in a viral clip, huddled around a phone on the pitch before erupting in elation after learning their world number 72 side had made it to the knockouts.

“It’s been a doozy so far,” said Ellis, who guided the USA to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 and now heads the tournament’s technical study group.

“I think we all feel this. Gone are the days of total predictability. Progress sits very clearly at the core, and certainly the competitiveness can be felt [with] giants in the game getting knocked out, we see debutants advance to the next round, which I think lends itself to this being just one of the most unpredictable and arguably exciting World Cups we’ve seen to date.

“If I’m candid, I really am surprised. I think when you suddenly see a Germany or a Brazil get knocked out of a World Cup in group stage.

“I don’t think any of us could have predicted that. I’m excited by the development, of course, for sure. But I think I was thinking that one more iteration of the World Cup before we started to see even more parity that we’re starting to see right now.”

Olympic champions Canada (seventh) and Brazil (eighth) were the other two top-10 sides to be sent packing after the group stage, joining China (14th), Italy (16th) and South Korea (17th) amongst some of the world’s top-ranked teams eliminated.

For the first time, three African nations – Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa – all advanced to the knockouts, while Jamaica made history by reaching the last-16 for the first time, despite an ongoing dispute with their federation over pay, resources and conditions that resulted in players airing their grievances in an open letter on social media before the World Cup.

Nigeria and South Africa are among other qualifying nations who were involved in pre-tournament disputes with their respective federations – a group that also includes England, who have vowed to fully focus on winning a first World Cup before resuming discussions with the Football Association over bonus payments and commercial structures.

Each nation competing at this World Cup also received US $960,000 (£753,830) to exclusively cover preparation costs.

While some sides seem to be defying the odds, Ellis and her expert panel have pointed overall to a clear correlation between investment and resourcing and performance.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, for example, has significantly invested in girls’ and women’s football since a system overhaul in 2009, and six years ago created a women’s football academy where players have access to the same facilities as the men’s national team.

Ellis said: “I was blown away by the facility. It’s one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it just kind of made me realise that yes, there are federations that are taking this very seriously.”

FIFA’s data after the group stage also reflect an increasingly competitive pool. The proportion of goals scored in the first half of matches has increased by nine per cent since the 2019 tournament, while the proportion scored in the first half by teams who did not advance increased by 18 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023.

At the same time, Ellis’ team also observed a rise in the quality of goalkeeping, which saw the average save percentage increase from 70 per cent four years ago in France to 77 per cent in 2023, while the percentage of matches ending in a draw has increased from eight per cent to 21 per cent.

Add in more players signing with clubs in increasingly well-resourced leagues and national teams developing clearer tactical identities shaped to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and this becomes perhaps the most open Women’s World Cup yet.

Ellis added: “We hear this constant comment about gaps and where are the gaps. We can arguably say that there aren’t gaps. That on any given day, a team can come out here and be competitive against another team.

“And so it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how this plays out.”

Max Scherzer recovered from a rough first inning to get the win in his first game with his new club as the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 Thursday.

Scherzer, who was traded from the New York Mets last weekend, gave up three runs in the opening frame before settling in and finishing with six innings pitched and nine strikeouts in the victory.

Marcus Semien and Mitch Garver hit solo home runs as the Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox.

The victory lifted Texas to a 1 ½-game lead in the AL West after the New York Yankees edged the Houston Astros.

Michael Lorenzen was sharper in his Philadelphia Phillies debut, tossing a season-high eight innings of two-run ball in a 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins.

Lorenzen, acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, scattered six hits, struck out five and walked one.

J.T. Realmuto returned after missing two games with a bruised right hand and homered and singled to help the Phillies take three of four against their NL East and wild-card rivals.

Ohtani exits mound early, hits 40th home run in loss

Shohei Ohtani was forced to leave the mound early but still hit his major league-leading 40th home run in the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Ohtani pitched four scoreless innings before exiting due to cramping in his pitching hand and fingers but remained in the game as the designated hitter.

He singled, walked twice and took Isaiah Campbell deep in the eighth inning to extend the Angels’ lead to 3-1.

All-Star Carlos Estevez failed to protect the lead in the ninth, walking the first two batters before Dominic Canzone singled to load the bases. After Teoscar Hernandez struck out, rookie Cade Marlowe - playing in his 12th major league game - belted a pitch into the seats in right field for a grand slam and a 5-3 lead.

O’s continue mastery of Blue Jays, Flaherty strong in debut

Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle each had four hits, and Jack Flaherty threw six strong innings in his Baltimore Orioles debut in a 6-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, Flaherty collected a win in his first start with the Orioles, allowing four hits and one run while striking out eight.

Mountcastle went 4 for 4 with four singles and an RBI, while Hays was 4 of 5 with a double and drove in two runs.

The win boosted the Orioles’ American League-best record to 67-42 and gave them an 8-2 mark against Toronto this season.

The Blue Jays have an 8-23 record against AL East opponents this season and a 52-27 record against all other opponents.

Double World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis confesses even she is blown away by the utter unpredictability of the 2023 tournament, which has already seen six top-20 sides bow out at the group stage.

The most shocking of those upsets came on Thursday night, when world number two Germany were dumped from Group H after never failing to reach the quarter-finals in eight previous tournaments.

Counter to the disappointed faces of the two-time champions were those of group rivals and debutants Morocco who, in a viral clip, huddled around a phone on the pitch before erupting in elation after learning their world number 72 side had made it to the knockouts.

“It’s been a doozy so far,” said Ellis, who guided the USA to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 and now heads the tournament’s technical study group.

“I think we all feel this. Gone are the days of total predictability. Progress sits very clearly at the core, and certainly the competitiveness can be felt [with] giants in the game getting knocked out, we see debutants advance to the next round, which I think lends itself to this being just one of the most unpredictable and arguably exciting World Cups we’ve seen to date.

“If I’m candid, I really am surprised. I think when you suddenly see a Germany or a Brazil get knocked out of a World Cup in group stage.

“I don’t think any of us could have predicted that. I’m excited by the development, of course, for sure. But I think I was thinking that one more iteration of the World Cup before we started to see even more parity that we’re starting to see right now.”

Olympic champions Canada (seventh) and Brazil (eighth) were the other two top-10 sides to be sent packing after the group stage, joining China (14th), Italy (16th) and South Korea (17th) amongst some of the world’s top-ranked teams eliminated.

For the first time, three African nations – Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa – all advanced to the knockouts, while Jamaica made history by reaching the last-16 for the first time, despite an ongoing dispute with their federation over pay, resources and conditions that resulted in players airing their grievances in an open letter on social media before the World Cup.

Nigeria and South Africa are among other qualifying nations who were involved in pre-tournament disputes with their respective federations – a group that also includes England, who have vowed to fully focus on winning a first World Cup before resuming discussions with the Football Association over bonus payments and commercial structures.

Each nation competing at this World Cup also received US $960,000 (£753,830) to exclusively cover preparation costs.

While some sides seem to be defying the odds, Ellis and her expert panel have pointed overall to a clear correlation between investment and resourcing and performance.

The Royal Moroccan Football Federation, for example, has significantly invested in girls’ and women’s football since a system overhaul in 2009, and six years ago created a women’s football academy where players have access to the same facilities as the men’s national team.

Ellis said: “I was blown away by the facility. It’s one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it just kind of made me realise that yes, there are federations that are taking this very seriously.”

FIFA’s data after the group stage also reflect an increasingly competitive pool. The proportion of goals scored in the first half of matches has increased by nine per cent since the 2019 tournament, while the proportion scored in the first half by teams who did not advance increased by 18 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023.

At the same time, Ellis’ team also observed a rise in the quality of goalkeeping, which saw the average save percentage increase from 70 per cent four years ago in France to 77 per cent in 2023, while the percentage of matches ending in a draw has increased from eight per cent to 21 per cent.

Add in more players signing with clubs in increasingly well-resourced leagues and national teams developing clearer tactical identities shaped to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and this becomes perhaps the most open Women’s World Cup yet.

Ellis added: “We hear this constant comment about gaps and where are the gaps. We can arguably say that there aren’t gaps. That on any given day, a team can come out here and be competitive against another team.

“And so it’s going to be incredibly exciting to see how this plays out.”

The Tampa Bay Rays put ace and Cy Young Award candidate Shane McClanahan on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left forearm tightness.

McClanahan departed his start Wednesday against the New York Yankees after four innings, and the Rays said in a statement Thursday that they are still in the process of gathering information.

McClanahan, a two-time All-Star at 26 years old, is 11-2 this season with a 3.29 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 115 innings.

The flame-throwing left-hander has been a major contributor to the Rays’ 66-45 record this season, second best in the American League, but has slumped recently.

After a sterling start to the season, McClanahan is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA over his last six starts, pitching just 25 2/3 combined innings while also battling tightness in his mid-back.

The Rays were atop the AL East for a total of 111 days this season but find themselves trailing the Baltimore Orioles by two games after Thursday’s results.

James Maddison would love Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham but insists the ongoing speculation around the forward has not been a distraction for his new team-mates.

Maddison became one of the first signings of the Ange Postecoglou era at Spurs when he completed a £40million move from Leicester on June 28.

Five weeks on and the elephant in the room remains Kane’s future, with Bayern Munich intent on bringing the England international to Germany and expected to imminently lodge a new bid for the 30-year-old.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reportedly met with Bayern officials in London on Monday and the club’s recent Asia-Pacific tour occurred amid constant talk of Kane’s future, with a BILD journalist able to unveil a Bayern shirt with ‘Kane 9’ on the back to Postecoglou during a media activity.

But Maddison, speaking at the TNT Sports start of season event in London, said: “It hasn’t been a distraction, Harry is super professional.

“I won’t go into details because I don’t know anything and let’s be respectful about Harry’s situation.

“Everyone knows what Harry Kane is like, he’s a super professional guy and whatever club he is at, whenever he goes into training he gives 100 per cent and it’s the same as all the lads so not (a distraction) at all really.

“We were friends before I joined Tottenham from the England squad, we have similar interests and get on well anyway away from football.

“I would love Harry Kane to stay, he’s the best number nine in the world in my opinion, but what will be, will be and Harry is super professional.”

While uncertainty remains over Kane’s future, Tottenham have stepped up their pursuit of new centre-backs for boss Postecoglou.

Talks with Spurs and Wolfsburg are advancing over the transfer of Micky van de Ven, the PA news agency understands.

Postecoglou gave the green light to Van de Ven’s signing soon after arriving in June and dialogue between the teams started last month.

No final agreement over a fee – expected to be in the region of £30m – has been reached, but there is a growing confidence the Netherlands Under-21 international will make the move before Spurs’ Premier League opener at Brentford on August 13.

Van de Ven, who made 36 appearances for Wolfsburg in the 2022-23 campaign, has attracted interest from Liverpool and made clear his desire to play in England during an interview with De Telegraaf recently.

“I have always dreamed of the Premier League because the biggest clubs play there and I also see that competition as the best in the world,” Van de Ven said in June.

Tottenham also remain in talks with Bayer Leverkusen over the signature of centre-back Edmond Tapsoba, who alongside Van de Ven has been high on the club’s list of potential targets this summer.

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A move for both Bundesliga-based defenders has not been ruled out but Spurs are working on other transfers.

Blackburn centre-back Ash Phillips is expected to complete his move to Tottenham this weekend.

Spurs entered discussions with the Sky Bet Championship club last month for the England youth international, but negotiations stalled over a final transfer fee.

A £2m release clause for Phillips will become active after Friday, which will allow Tottenham to complete the signing of the 18-year-old.

Phillips’ arrival will not impact on Postecoglou’s desire to boost his senior options in defence, with the centre-back viewed as a player for the future.

Tottenham have also opened talks with Rosario Central over 19-year-old forward Alejo Veliz.

Veliz impressed at the Under-20 World Cup this summer, scoring three goals for Argentina. Discussions are at an early stage but Spurs are eager to make a number of signings during a busy final month of the summer transfer window.

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Anthony Joshua has some admiration for Tyson Fury’s uncompromising attitude but believes his British rival should be fighting professional boxers and not mixed martial artists.

Fury argued he was unable to arrange a showdown with Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk, which led the WBC heavyweight champion agreeing to box MMA star Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

While Fury’s handlers have denied the crossover bout is an exhibition, the 34-year-old will not be defending his world title against the former UFC heavyweight champion, who has never boxed professionally before.

Fury has been accused of holding up the division and Joshua, who has a rematch against Dillian Whyte on August 12 at London’s O2 Arena, admitted he has some sympathy with boxers having to stand by for a title shot.

“I’m not frustrated by that because I’ve been champion and I know my process and I’m on this rebuilding phase but I can understand for people waiting in line it must be massively frustrating,” Joshua said.

“To become champion for some people is the be all and end all. That’s all they want to do and then they can pack up. I feel sorry for the people who want to know where they are going with their career.

“But Fury has to do what Fury has to do for him. I admire the guy for his confidence to do what’s right for him – he has an ‘eff it’ mentality. I think we all need a bit of that in today’s society.

“If you want to hold him accountable then yes he should be fighting active fighters and he should wait until the end of his career, when he’s not champion anymore, to compete with MMA fighters.”

Negotiations for an undisputed fight between Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO champion Usyk broke down earlier this year, with the British fighter attracting the most criticism which intensified after the Ngannou announcement.

The WBC has given Fury special dispensation to take on his Cameroonian-French opponent, in a fight which is expected to be highly lucrative for both combatants, as there is no mandatory challenger in place.

Joshua ruefully reflected that he would still be a world champion now had he ignored his mandatory and vacated one of the crowns now held by Usyk, who outpointed the Briton twice.

“When all is said and done it will just be part of (Fury’s) legacy and I think we will all forget about it sooner or later,” Joshua added.

“Usyk was my mandatory and I ended up losing to him. I would have loved to have gone to Saudi to compete with someone else and make a s*** load of money and swerve my mandatory.

“I would still be champion if I could do that but I didn’t get that opportunity and I had to take it on the chin. But life isn’t always fair.”

Great Britain recorded a best major women’s team sprint result in 11 years with silver at the UCI Cycling World Championships before Will Tidball ended the day with scratch race gold in Glasgow.

Lauren Bell, Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane recorded a time fast enough to break the world record at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome but Germany went even faster to take gold in a time of 45.848 seconds.

Bell described it as a “bittersweet” result as they settled for silver, but even so it is another big marker after Britain failed to qualify for the team sprint at either of the last two Olympics.

Silver is Britain’s best result at this level since Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish finished runners up in 2011, having been beaten by an Australian team including outgoing Great Britain coach Kaarle McCulloch.

“We pushed them all the way,” said Capewell. “We can take a bit of credit for that world record I think. It’s a little bit disappointing but our goal is next year and this is a stepping stone.

“If you look at how far we’ve come, we’ve knocked over half a second off our time last year and none of us executed it perfectly so there is more to come.”

It was a rollercoaster day for Britain in the velodrome, with their defence of the men’s team pursuit title ending a qualifying crash for Charlie Tanfield in the morning, but Tidball ended it in golden fashion with a surprise win in the scratch race.

The 23-year-old, making his World Championship debut and competing in his only race of the week, kept himself hidden for much of the 60-lap race before coming around Dutch rider Roy Eefting-Bloem with half a lap to go.

“I didn’t have expectations,” Tidball said. “I didn’t really dream of coming away with a medal. I wanted to put it all on the line to win it. With a scratch race, that’s how you’re going to win. You can’t win it with a half-hearted attack. We went all-in and it paid off.”

If there was a complaint from the riders, it was that the medal ceremonies did not take place in the velodrome itself, but over in a side room away from the crowds.

“That’s the one thing that is missing,” Tidball said. “They should have put that here. It’s probably the most important thing to have in a track centre. Maybe I should win another time.”

But while Tidball could celebrate, it was a bad day for his men’s endurance team-mates as Tanfield crashed 40 metres from the line in team pursuit qualifying. With Britain already down to three riders at the time, they failed to set an official time and went out of the competition.

Britain had been on course for the second fastest qualifying time behind Denmark and a ticket to the medal rounds prior to the incident but Tanfield, a late call-up to the squad to replace the injured Ethan Hayter, began to lose the wheel of Dan Bigham and Ethan Vernon in the final laps.

As he pushed to keep up, Tanfield dipped his front wheel on to the blue band at the bottom of the track and lost control. The 26-year-old, part of the GB squad who won the world title in 2018, was taken to hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion.

Neah Evans missed out on bronze in the women’s individual pursuit, beaten by New Zealand’s Bryony Botha as American Chloe Dygert took gold.

There was success for Britain’s para-cyclists. Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl took gold in the women’s B kilo time trial, with Lizzi Jordan piloted by Amy Cole claiming bronze in the same event.

Steve Bate and Chris Latham took bronze in the men’s B individual pursuit.

Earlier in the day, Jody Cundy became the second British para-cyclist to set a new world record at these Championships as he clocked a time of 10.427 seconds in the men’s C4 omnium flying 200 metres.

Manchester United are likely to unveil Rasmus Hojlund as their latest signing during Saturday’s friendly against Lens, the PA news agency understands.

The 20-year-old Denmark striker has completed his medical after United agreed a deal with Atalanta in principle last week worth £64million plus a further £8m in potential add-ons.

Hojlund has agreed a five-year deal with the option of a further season at Old Trafford and will become Erik ten Hag’s third summer signing.

England midfielder Mason Mount arrived from Chelsea in June for £55m and goalkeeper Andre Onana completed his move from Inter Milan last month for a fee of £47.2m.

Serie A side Atalanta paid Sturm Graz a reported £15m for Hojlund last summer and he scored nine goals in 32 league appearances.

Hojlund, who has scored six goals in six senior internationals for Denmark, started out at Copenhagen, making his first-team debut aged 17, and moved on to the Austrian Bundesliga in January 2022.

United play Ligue 1 side Lens at Old Trafford on Saturday (12.45pm) and take on LaLiga side Athletic Bilbao in their final pre-season friendly in Dublin on Sunday (4pm).

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 3.

Birmingham welcomed a big name as minority owner.

RB Leipzig mocked Liverpool’s kit man.

Jude Bellingham is looking forward to the new season.

A post shared by Jude Bellingham (@judebellingham)

Mohamed Salah played against Bayern Munich.

Eddie Nketiah ran into his old gaffer.

Marta said farewell.

This is what a World Cup knockout place means.

Steph Houghton thanked her hometown club.

Football stars react to Germany’s shock group-stage exit from the Women’s World Cup.

Kevin Pietersen gave his brain a workout.

Stuart Broad was sharing the love.

A post shared by Stuart Broad (@stuartbroad)

James Anderson reminisced.

Helen Housby enjoyed England’s historic win against Australia.

A post shared by Helen Housby (@helenhousby1)

Some famous faces celebrated their victory in Cape Town.