Brendan Rodgers told Stephen Welsh he sees the defender’s future at Celtic Park after he came in from the cold to help the champions see off a spirited Aberdeen in a 3-1 victory at Pittodrie.

Welsh replaced the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers at half-time with Celtic 2-1 ahead following an exciting opening period.

It was the centre-back’s first appearance for 10 months and he strolled through the 45 minutes with Aberdeen unable to carve out many clear-cut chances despite some decent spells of possession.

Rodgers is hoping to secure a new centre-back in the coming days after Celtic made a move for Elfsborg’s Gustaf Lagerbielke.

But he sees Welsh as a key part of his squad following the departure of Carl Starfelt to Celta Vigo.

“I thought he was excellent when he came in,” Rodgers said. “I like Stephen. I took him with me one pre-season when he was a young player because I really liked him.

“For whatever reason he hasn’t maybe played the games but he’s a Celtic boy who wants to be at the club. I want him to be at the club.

“I said to him, ‘I can’t guarantee you how many games you are going to play. You may play 40 games in the season’.

“But I know he is always ready. He trains very hard every day and he came into the game, he played with composure, and he is aggressive. It was really well done from him.”

Celtic also lost half-time substitute Reo Hatate to injury.

Rodgers said: “Cam just felt his hamstring towards the end of the half so hopefully that will not be too bad. And Reo just felt something in his calf. It’s better for precaution sake to get them off and we will see in the next couple of days how they are.”

Odin Thiago Holm replaced Hatate in the 70th minute before Yang Hyin-jun came off the bench to set up Matt O’Riley’s clincher in the 84th minute.

On the Norwegian midfielder, Rodgers said: “He is a good player, he is going to really show his talent as he goes through his time at Celtic. He is a fantastic footballer. He has got an edge, he can see a pass, can move well.

“And Yang came into the game and sets up the third goal with a great bit of skill. So I am really pleased for all the boys who came into the game and contributed.”

Aberdeen gave as good as they got in the first half but Nicky Devlin’s short headed back pass allowed Kyogo Furuhashi to fire Celtic back in front after Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.

Rodgers said: “Overall it was a very good win, some spells of good football and in those moments of adversity we stayed strong. It will be great for the spirit because we had to come through tough moments.”

Celtic have won 13 times at Pittodrie since last losing an away game against the Dons in February 2016 but Aberdeen boss Barry Robson felt his team’s performance was a forward step.

“We were really brave,” he said. “We tried to go after them and we made the game a bit basketball at times and sometimes it was survival of the fittest out there.

“It was entertaining stuff and it was dangerous at times from us but we wanted to have a go and try and win the game.

“It was probably our own doing with a couple of individual errors that cost us in the end but also the quality of the opposition.

“We tried to play in a way that is aggressive and brings speed to the game and I think we did that.

“I think that’s as good a performance you have seen from an Aberdeen team here against Celtic for a lot of years.”

The dust has settled on Saturday’s remaining two quarter-finals and attention is now turning to the last four.

Spain, Sweden, England and Australia are the four remaining teams, meaning there will be a new name on the trophy in next Sunday’s final.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the day Down Under.

Bronze says England are ready for gold

Defender Lucy Bronze revealed England would have failed to live up to their own expectations had they not reached the World Cup semi-finals.

The Lionnesses saw off Colombia in Saturday’s quarter-final to set up Wednesday’s last-four meeting with co-hosts Australia.

Third place would see England equal their best-ever finish from eight years ago in Canada, but Bronze insisted reaching this stage for the third time in the European champions’ history was the bare minimum.

“If we hadn’t have got to the semi-final, I would have said that we would have underperformed,” said Bronze.

“A lot of people said that England were the team that were going to flop a little bit. Our performances haven’t been our best, granted, but the results have been there and we’ve got to the semi-final, which is what this England team is known for doing.

“I think the difference with this team is we have won trophies, we have won tournaments, so we do know what to do.”

Quote of the dayIlestedt laughs off Golden Boot talk

Sweden defender Amanda Ilestedt took her tally to four goals when she scored in the quarter-final win over Japan.

It took her just one behind current leader Hinata Miyazawa, who is no longer in the tournament, so she has a real chance of claiming the Golden Boot. Not bad for a centre-half.

She has downplayed her chances of finishing as top scorer, though, and just wants her team to do well.

She said on FIFA’s website: “I don’t know. I can’t even believe I’m even talking about this. I’m a defender.

“I find it funny. But as long as the team keep winning, I’m happy. It doesn’t matter who scores.”

Picture of the dayPost of the dayWhat’s next?

Semi-final: Spain v Sweden, Auckland, Tuesday 10am
Semi-final: Australia v England, Sydney, Wednesday 11am

Manchester United midfielder Fred has completed his transfer to Fenerbahce.

United announced a deal had been agreed between the two clubs on Friday and the Brazil international travelled to Turkey on Saturday for a medical and to discuss terms.

Both happened without an issue, so Fred heads to Istanbul in a move worth an initial 10million euros (£8.6m) rising to a possible 15m euros (£12.9m).

The 30-year-old, who moved to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 and had made 213 appearances for the club, had already said his goodbyes on social media.

He said on Saturday: “Thanks for everything, Manchester United Football Club.

“Today ends one of the most beautiful stages of my career. I lived the dream of wearing the shirt of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“Going through ups and downs, I leave with the conviction that I always gave my best during all training sessions and games.

“It was five years of a true dream for me and my family. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. Forever a Red!”

Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley both scored for the second game running as Celtic beat Aberdeen 3-1 at Pittodrie.

Furuhashi capitalised on a defensive error to put the champions back in front before the half-hour mark after Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.

Aberdeen caused Celtic plenty of problems in an enthralling first half with Graeme Shinnie harrying in midfield, wide player Shayden Morris impressing on his first Pittodrie start and the Dons’ front two posing a constant threat in behind.

But Celtic enjoyed much more control in the second half and O’Riley’s late goal ensured they went back top of the cinch Premiership after two matches.

Celtic were unchanged and Aberdeen brought in Ryan Duncan for the absent Jonny Hayes before the game began following a minute’s applause for former Dons boss Craig Brown, in the first Pittodrie game since his death.

Miovski and Furuhashi were just wide from 22 yards at either end in a lively start before Celtic took the lead following O’Riley’s inswinging free-kick in the 11th minute.

Daizen Maeda headed towards goal and Abada was flagged offside after helping the ball home from close range, but the goal was awarded by video assistant referee Andrew Dallas.

Aberdeen continued to press. Shinnie headed over after a well-worked set-piece before the Dons captain won the ball in the centre circle to spark the move that led to a 25th-minute equaliser.

Jack McKenzie’s ball down the channel got Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes in behind Cameron Carter-Vickers and he cut the ball back for strike partner Miovski to knock home from six yards after the striker had reacted quicker than Maik Nawrocki.

The volume rose around Pittodrie, which was hosting a crowd of 18,652, but the home fans were silenced four minutes later.

Home debutant Nicky Devlin did not spot Furuhashi as he attempted to head a hopeful ball forward back to his goalkeeper and the Japan striker lashed the bouncing ball high into the net from 18 yards.

Celtic had chances to extend their lead. Abada shot straight at Kelle Roos following good work from Maeda and the goalkeeper tipped over O’Riley’s free-kick.

Aberdeen finished the half strongly, though, and Dante Polvara twice came close.

Celtic made a double switch at half-time. Stephen Welsh came on for Carter-Vickers for his first competitive appearance in 10 months while Reo Hatate replaced David Turnbull.

Furuhashi missed a good chance with his left foot and Maeda was twice denied by interventions from Devlin after incisive counter-attacks, the first through an excellent goal-line clearance.

Hatate had helped Celtic get good control of possession from a deep midfield role but he hobbled off in the 70th minute for Odin Thiago Holm to come on.

Aberdeen enjoyed good territory but they could not trouble goalkeeper Joe Hart, with their only real chance in the second half coming when Leighton Clarkson curled just wide following a long ball.

Roos denied Maeda after the Japanese striker was played clean through on the break but substitute Yang Hyun-jun quickly cut the ball back for O’Riley to drill home in the 84th minute.

Harry Kane did not know if his transfer from Tottenham to Bayern Munich was going to go through after a “roller coaster” two days.

Kane has endured a whirlwind 72 hours since Spurs agreed a fee with the German club on Thursday, which culminated in the England captain being unveiled before the press on Sunday lunchtime.

He had already made his debut by then, coming on as a substitute in the second half of the DFL-Supercup, but his wait for the first silverware of his career goes on after Bayern lost 3-0 to RB Leipzig.

It was a race against time for Kane to be registered in time to play after his flight to Germany and subsequent medical was delayed after Spurs went back to the negotiating table at the last minute.

The £100million deal eventually got done, though Kane admits he was left sweating for a while.

“It was obviously a busy couple of days, a busy week, this is my first transfer that have been involved in, it was an up-and-down experience for sure, but I am happy to be here now,” he said.

“I wish Tottenham all the best, I wish Daniel Levy all the best, but my focus is here now and trying to help this time and I am just happy we managed to do it and am excited to get started.

“Talks have been ongoing for a couple of months ago and I always said if there was a deal that suited all three parties then we could do it.

“Going into the last year of my contract I didn’t want it to be a distraction for the new manager and team at Tottenham. I was excited to come.

“The last 48 hours of the deal was pretty up and down, a bit of a roller coaster, but I was just really happy when we got over the line.

“Two days ago I was sitting in London and we didn’t know how it was going to go.”

The 30-year-old, who broke Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring record last season, departs a club he joined as an 11-year-old and one where he was desperate to win silverware.

It became apparent over the last few seasons that he would not be able to fulfil his ambitions at Spurs and, with one year left on his contract, knew it was time to move on, even though he did not get the chance to say goodbye.

“It is always going to be a tough decision, I was at Tottenham for 19 years of my life, everyone knows the club is connected with me and my heart,” he said. “I’m professional and always pushed myself to my limits.

“I just felt like the time was right, I needed to be playing at the highest level, in the Champions League, trying to win titles every year.

“When I thought about it and Bayern got in touch it was a decision I wanted to make.

“I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, I sent the group a text that I was leaving and when I get the chance to go back, I’ll go in and say goodbye properly.

“Not just the players, but the staff, the chefs, the kitmen, the physios, people I have spent 15 years of my life with. I didn’t have that time because it was so up and down, but for sure over the next few weeks I’ll get some time.”

Kane leaves the Premier League only 48 goals shy of Alan Shearer’s all-time record, but hinted at returning one day in a bid to surpass the former Newcastle and Blackburn striker.

“People will talk about Shearer but I have got plenty of football left in my career,” he said.

“For now I am just trying to concentrate on trying to achieve things here, trying to push myself and push the team to try and reach new levels for this club. That is what my focus is on now.”

Kane’s move to Germany is complicated that his wife Kate is heavily pregnant with their fourth child.

She will return to London on Monday with the rest of their young family, with Kane saying a decision will be made on where she gives birth.

“My wife Kate was really supportive, she wants the best for me and my career so she said to push, she wants me to be playing and happy and that is why we made the decision,” Kane added.

For Bayern to get Kane represents a big statement of intent as they try to conquer Europe against after a couple of lean seasons in the Champions League.

But their biggest victory might have been in successfully completing cordial negotiations with Spurs chairman Levy, an achievement a host of clubs have failed at.

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CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen got on so well with Levy that he intends to buy him dinner.

He said: “Daniel and I got closer in the last couple of weeks, that is for sure.

“It was quite a tough negotiation, Daniel is a very friendly person but he knows what he wants. So two people who knew exactly what they wanted came together and that is why it took a bit longer.

“But in the end both of us do have good feelings and that is why I will pay for dinner with him.”

Back at Spurs, new captain Son Heung-min believes Richarlison can help the club fill the gap left by Kane’s departure.

Son told Sky Sports before their Premier League match at Brentford: “We’ve lost one of the best strikers in the world, but I think we have a good player to replace him.

“Obviously H (Kane) has scored so many goals, so every attacking player should take a big responsibility to score some goals.”

Tom Brady is determined to help Birmingham maximise their potential having become minority owner of a club he hopes to help with promotion on and off the field.

Jaws dropped on both sides of the Atlantic when the seven-time Super Bowl winner recently announced he was coming on board at the Championship club.

Brady has entered into a partnership with Birmingham’s new owners Knighthead Capital Management and taken a minority stake, as well as becoming chairman of their new advisory board.

The 46-year-old becomes the latest North American personality to sprinkle stardust on English football, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney transforming Wrexham and former NFL star JJ Watt boosting Burnley.

The moves have undoubtedly helped raise those clubs’ profile and Brady hope to do the same, yet he insists his partnership is about more than bringing commercial benefits to Birmingham.

“Those guys have done a good job and I think they’ve done a good job promoting the club,” Brady told the PA news agency.

“I think for me it’s more than promotion. It’s about getting to understand what makes a great, successful team and organisation.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of some of those and to impart some of the things that I’ve learned over those years is part of me beyond my own personal playing career.

“There’s a different part of my career that I’m now starting and it will be deeply meaningful to me.”

Brady was speaking alongside chairman Tom Wagner, who led the takeover of a club that has been through its fair share of difficulties since relegation from the Premier League 12 years ago.

There was therefore an understandable air of hope and excitement on Saturday as Birmingham played their first home game since the new owners came in.

A bouncing St Andrew’s welcomed its biggest crowd since before the pandemic and celebrated the start of a new era in perfect fashion as Lukas Jutkiewicz smashed home a stoppage-time winner against Leeds.

“I would just say that today is just the beginning,” chairman Wagner said after Birmingham’s last-gasp 1-0 win. “What we have planned is well beyond what we’ve done thus far. It’s only been four weeks.

“Tom’s influence here I expect to have an enormous difference because of the quality of the experience that he brings and will bear great fruit in the years ahead.

“We’re really quite excited about what all that means for the club in the longer term.

“We view this as a marathon, not a sprint. I hate using that overused colloquialism but ultimately it really is.

“It’s something that we think really matters and having a long term vision is important.”

The first month has certainly been positive and Brady’s arrival has caught the imagination, with the former quarterback smiling when it was put to him some may see his arrival at Birmingham as a publicity stunt.

“I’ve got a little knowledge about sports!” the most decorated player in NFL history said. “It doesn’t mean I know everything.

“I’ve been in sports for a long time, so I’ve heard a lot of different things over a long period of time.

“Look, I think you’re here to learn and gain information and gain an understanding of why things work and why they don’t work.

“You don’t have all the answers coming over here to understand that, but the only way to do it is to come experience it and see where we can lend a hand to help the club win.”

Brady managed that on his first trip to St Andrew’s, giving the players an inspirational pep talk before they went out to beat recently-relegated Leeds.

Birmingham boss John Eustace said the star’s first day on the ground showed the benefit of his involvement, adding that “the vision that he’s got for the football club is amazing”.

Those lofty ambitions may not be achieved straightaway, but Brady has pledged to do “whatever it takes” to help the Blues flourish.

“I’m a great fan of sports and I see how it brings people together,” the Patriot, Buccaneer and now Bluenose added.

“I played games in this country and the world is global.

“We’re all travelling, we’re all a part of different things and I love sports, and I love teamwork, and I love winning, and I love a passionate fan base.

“I was an underdog myself, so to see a team that maybe hasn’t maximised its potential in a while, to be a part of that is a great opportunity and let’s see what we can make of it.”

NFL great Tom Brady expects his friend Harry Kane to benefit from “a new injection of energy” after joining Bayern Munich from Tottenham.

The 30-year-old ended his long association with the north Londoners on Saturday when he completed his £100million move to the perennial Bundesliga champions.

Kane said it felt like the right time to leave Tottenham after two decades with the club, just as Brady did when departing the New England Patriots in 2020.

The quarterback won six Super Bowls during his 20 years with the Pats and went on to win his seventh in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Huge NFL fan Kane has become friends with Brady over the years and the retired QB turned Birmingham minority owner believes the striker will thrive with his fresh start.

“I sent him a congratulatory note,” Brady told the PA news agency. “He’s been a friend of mine for a long time.

“He’s supported me over a long period of time, and I’m here to do the same for him.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next.

“I know sometimes when you move clubs there’s kind of an injection of energy.

“It’s a different environment, you want to go prove people wrong, you want to prove people right. And that’s a great feeling as an athlete.”

Harry Kane did not know if his transfer from Tottenham to Bayern Munich was going to go through after a “roller coaster” two days.

Kane has endured a whirlwind 72 hours since Spurs agreed a fee with the German club on Thursday, which culminated in the England captain being unveiled before the press on Sunday lunchtime.

He had already made his debut by then, coming on as a substitute in the second half of the DFL-Supercup, but his wait for the first silverware of his career goes on after Bayern lost 3-0 to RB Leipzig.

It was a race against time for Kane to be registered in time to play after his flight to Germany and subsequent medical was delayed after Spurs went back to the negotiating table at the last minute.

The £100million deal eventually got done, though Kane admits he was left sweating for a while.

“It was obviously a busy couple of days, a busy week, this is my first transfer that have been involved in, it was an up-and-down experience for sure, but I am happy to be here now,” he said.

“I wish Tottenham all the best, I wish Daniel Levy all the best, but my focus is here now and trying to help this time and I am just happy we managed to do it and am excited to get started.

“Talks have been ongoing for a couple of months ago and I always said if there was a deal that suited all three parties then we could do it.

“Going into the last year of my contract I didn’t want it to be a distraction for the new manager and team at Tottenham. I was excited to come.

“The last 48 hours of the deal was pretty up and down, a bit of a roller coaster, but I was just really happy when we got over the line.

“Two days ago I was sitting in London and we didn’t know how it was going to go.”

The 30-year-old, who broke Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring record last season, departs a club he joined as an 11-year-old and one where he was desperate to win silverware.

It became apparent over the last few seasons that he would not be able to fulfil his ambitions at Spurs and, with one year left on his contract, knew it was time to move on, even though he did not get the chance to say goodbye.

“It is always going to be a tough decision, I was at Tottenham for 19 years of my life, everyone knows the club is connected with me and my heart,” he said. “I’m professional and always pushed myself to my limits.

“I just felt like the time was right, I needed to be playing at the highest level, in the Champions League, trying to win titles every year.

“When I thought about it and Bayern got in touch it was a decision I wanted to make.

“I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, I sent the group a text that I was leaving and when I get the chance to go back, I’ll go in and say goodbye properly.

“Not just the players, but the staff, the chefs, the kitmen, the physios, people I have spent 15 years of my life with. I didn’t have that time because it was so up and down, but for sure over the next few weeks I’ll get some time.”

Kane leaves the Premier League only 48 goals shy of Alan Shearer’s all-time record, but hinted at returning one day in a bid to surpass the former Newcastle and Blackburn striker.

“People will talk about Shearer but I have got plenty of football left in my career,” he said.

“For now I am just trying to concentrate on trying to achieve things here, trying to push myself and push the team to try and reach new levels for this club. That is what my focus is on now.”

Kane’s move to Germany is complicated that his wife Kate is heavily pregnant with their fourth child.

She will return to London on Monday with the rest of their young family, with Kane saying a decision will be made on where she gives birth.

“My wife Kate was really supportive, she wants the best for me and my career so she said to push, she wants me to be playing and happy and that is why we made the decision,” Kane added.

For Bayern to get Kane represents a big statement of intent as they try to conquer Europe against after a couple of lean seasons in the Champions League.

But their biggest victory might have been in successfully completing cordial negotiations with Spurs chairman Levy, an achievement a host of clubs have failed at.

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A post shared by Harry Kane (@harrykane)

CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen got on so well with Levy that he intends to buy him dinner.

He said: “Daniel and I got closer in the last couple of weeks, that is for sure.

“It was quite a tough negotiation, Daniel is a very friendly person but he knows what he wants. So two people who knew exactly what they wanted came together and that is why it took a bit longer.

“But in the end both of us do have good feelings and that is why I will pay for dinner with him.”

Back at Spurs, new captain Son Heung-min believes Richarlison can help the club fill the gap left by Kane’s departure.

Son told Sky Sports before their Premier League match at Brentford: “We’ve lost one of the best strikers in the world, but I think we have a good player to replace him.

“Obviously H (Kane) has scored so many goals, so every attacking player should take a big responsibility to score some goals.”

Brazilian striker Danilo insists there is more to come from Rangers as he basked in the glory of his first goal in the 4-0 home win over Livingston on Saturday.

Some pressure was on the Govan outfit after they lost their cinch Premiership opener at Kilmarnock last weekend but the afternoon started well, with Sam Lammers driving in the opener after 10 minutes.

After that, however, the home side found it tough to get past the well-organised Livi defence.

However, the increasing tension inside Ibrox was alleviated in the 78th minute when left-back Borna Barisic threw a cross to the back post and Danilo, the 24-year-old signed from Feyenoord, leapt to head past Lions goalkeeper Shamal George.

Rangers powered through the final stages and there were further goals from substitutes Abdallah Sima and Kieran Dowell which put gloss on the scoreline and set Rangers up for their Champions League third-round qualifier against Servette on Tuesday night, where they will try to defend a 2-1 lead from the first leg.

Danilo told RangersTV it was an “amazing” feeling to open his account for the Light Blues as he looked forward to further improvements.

He said: “We had a good impact from the Servette game and we showed again we are a really strong team.

“The lads played really well and we showed how good we can be.

“There are still things that we can improve on. The team is totally new but the more we play together the more we will get to know each other and get used to each other.

“We played really good and the boys who came on made a good impact to really help us to improve our game even more.

“It is great to see everyone is in good shape and wants to win, it is really good for us.”

Ranger boss Michael Beale revealed midfielder John Lundstram will not make the trip to Switzerland due to personal reasons.

Livi boss David Martindale thought the scoreline was a bit harsh on his side and noted the strength in depth of the Ibrox side, who brought on Rabbi Matondo, Dowell, Lundstram, Sima and debutant Dujon Sterling to great effect in the later stages of the game.

He said: “I thought Rangers’ substitutions really helped them. They brought a lot of pace and power on to the park. Look at Dowell’s finish.

“That really, really helped Rangers with the way they were playing, they started knocking it about and combinations and rotations were coming together more than earlier.”

Defender Lucy Bronze revealed England would have failed to live up to their own expectations had they not reached the World Cup semi-finals.

Alessia Russo guaranteed the Lionesses would finish no lower than fourth in the 2023 tournament when her second-half goal completed a 2-1 comeback against Colombia in Saturday’s quarter-final to set up Wednesday’s meeting with co-hosts Australia.

Third place would see England equal their best-ever finish from eight years ago in Canada, but Bronze insisted reaching this stage for the third time in the European champions’ history was the bare minimum.

“If we hadn’t have gotten to the semi-final, I would have said that we would have underperformed,” said Bronze.

“A lot of people said that England were the team that were going to flop a little bit. Our performances haven’t been our best, granted, but the results have been there and we’ve got to the semi-final, which is what this England team is known for doing.

“This very much reminds me of 2015, having to fight in every single game.

“I think the difference with this team is we have won trophies, we have won tournaments, so we do know what to do.

“We knew coming into the tournament that it wasn’t going to be easy. There was a lot of outside noise about whether England was going to be able to cope well with everything thrown at us…and the semi-final is what is expected of us as the England team.”

Bronze, alongside Alex Greenwood, is one of just two members of the 2023 squad to have featured in three consecutive World Cups and is second only to Jill Scott in World Cup appearances for the Lionesses, with 18 to the retired midfielder’s 21. 

The 31-year-old made history during her first global showpiece in 2015, when her 76th-minute effort made it 2-1 against Norway in their last-16 encounter and secured England Women’s first-ever victory in a World Cup knockout stage.

Four years later, again against Norway, Bronze unleashed another stunning strike, capping off the Lionesses’ 3-0 quarter-final victory in France to book a second trip to the semi-finals.

To say the Matildas have captured Australia’s imagination en route to their first-ever final-four encounter would be selling short the fervour taking hold Down Under.

Saturday’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over France was watched by over 7.2 million people in Australia, over a quarter of the country’s population.

Co-host broadcaster Seven said the audience was the “highest rating TV sport program of the past decade”, while “the 472,000 viewers on 7plus makes the Matildas v France game the biggest streaming event ever seen in Australia”.

England had a taste of the environment they are likely to face on Wednesday when they lined up across from a Colombia side that enjoyed the overwhelming majority in the Stadium Australia stands, a sea of yellow who booed when England touched the ball and unleashed an almighty roar when Leicy Santos scored the opener.

Lauren Hemp cancelled it out by half-time, while Russo provided the lethal blow after the break to eliminate the only side from the Americas left in the tournament.

While being the home side does have its advantages, as Bronze knows from last summer’s Euro 2022 triumph, she was quick to point out the potential pitfalls facing the Matildas come Wednesday night’s historic encounter.

She said: “(There are) positives and negatives for being the home nation and for being the team against.

“It can be a lot of pressure to put on teams. I remember playing Canada in 2015 in that World Cup and there was a lot of pressure put on that team and it gave them a lot of fight.

“It was the same thing for us in the Euros last year. The ’12th man’ as they say, it really helped us.

“It was a key part to us winning and I think that’s been a key part for Australia when their backs have been against the wall this tournament. (For us) it wasn’t hostile but the Colombians were very loud, so that’s something we’re used to now.”

Paris St Germain are ready to integrate Kylian Mbappe back into the first-team squad, according to reports.

The France captain’s future in the capital city has seemed uncertain following links with a move to Real Madrid and reports earlier this week that he was frozen out of senior training.

Mbappe was told to stay away after he refused to activate an option to extend his current contract to 2025, meaning the superstar would be free to negotiate a free transfer to foreign clubs in January.

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He was not involved as PSG began their Ligue 1 campaign in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Lorient, with Neymar also not included in the matchday squad.

But before the game Mbappe and the club are reported to have held positive talks that will see the 24-year-old return to Luis Enrique’s squad.

A club statement on Sunday, reported by French newspaper L’Equipe, read: “After very constructive and positive discussions between Paris St Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient match, the player was reinstated in the first training team this morning.”

Boss Enrique had said before the game that he was confident of a positive outcome.

“It is something that has already happened in the past and there was a positive solution before I was here,” he said in his pre-match press conference.

“I hope and wish that, just like in the past, the same thing will happen again and that the club and the player will reach an agreement.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is relishing the dilemma of having to disappoint players as he attempts to negotiate a path through a season which could see his squad stretched to its limits.

The 45-year-old left summer signings Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento, as well as last season’s top scorer Callum Wilson, sitting on the bench for Saturday’s Premier League opener, but saw Wilson and Barnes come on and score in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa.

Howe admitted in the run-up to the game that he had “five or six” difficult decisions to make in the light of a fresh £125million spending spree, Anthony Gordon’s pre-season form and the emergence of homegrown midfielder Elliot Anderson, but that is a problem he welcomes with a Champions League campaign looming.

He said: “They’re dilemmas that are needed because we’re going to need the strongest squad possible, and the players who missed out today will play loads of games this season.

“That’s just a fact because we’re in so many different competitions, we’re going to be stretched and we’ll also be needing their quality as well.

“It’s going to be nice to be able to make those decisions. We need the strongest bench we can get this year with the amount of games we’re going to have, the amount of competitions we’re in.

“It was certainly a difficult day yesterday to name the team. They weren’t easy decisions for me to make – decisions I had to make, of course, being in my position – and then you just hope the team performs and you get the benefit of that squad.”

One of those decisions saw Howe hand a debut to £52m former AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali, and it paid off handsomely as the 23-year-old not only opened the scoring within six minutes, but produced a commanding display on his first appearance in England’s top flight.

Villa’s record signing Moussa Diaby cancelled out the Italian’s early strike in short order, but his response was to play a pivotal role as Newcastle overwhelmed the visitors, Alexander Isak helping himself to a double either side of the unfortunate Tyrone Mings’ departure on a stretcher before substitutes Wilson and Barnes added their names to the scoresheet late on.

Howe was understandably delighted, but equally confident there is more to come.

He said: “We didn’t defend perfectly, so there’s stuff for us to improve – but it was a weird situation. I thought they (Villa) played well, but we could have scored more goals.”

Opposite number Unai Emery headed back to the midlands hoping the news on Mings is not as bad as that which saw midfielder Emiliano Buendia ruled out for an extended period with a knee injury last week, but taking comfort from Diaby’s impressive debut on Tyneside.

Emery said: “We haven’t had all bad news and one of the good things was to watch Moussa playing feeling good and adapting to the position we’re trying to get with him. He was good, he scored and he played well.

“We had some good moments in the 90 minutes, but there a lot of things we had to do to control the match that we didn’t do within our system.”

England advanced to the World Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 comeback victory over Colombia, and will play tournament co-hosts Australia in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Here, the PA news agency breaks down some of the key questions ahead of The Lionesses’ meeting with the Matildas.

How did they get here?

England secured victories over Haiti, Denmark and China to reach the knockouts, scoring multiple times in a group stage contest just once with a 6-1 triumph over China.

The Lionesses next faced Nigeria in the last-16, who held them to 120 goalless minutes before England booked their quarter-final place with a 4-2 win on penalties.

England conceded for just the second time this tournament late in the first half of the quarter-final clash with Colombia at Sydney’s sold-out Stadium Australia, but they were level by the break thanks to Lauren Hemp’s alert stoppage-time effort and Alessia Russo completed the comeback after the  break.

What is England’s history in World Cup semi-finals?

The Lionesses’ first appearance in the final four, eight years ago in Canada, ended in heartbreak.

England were up against defending champions Japan, who took the lead through captain Aya Miyama’s 32nd-minute opener but saw it cancelled out by Fara Williams after just seven minutes.

The 1-1 draw looked destined for extra time until Laura Bassett directed a clearance into her own net in the first minute of second-half stoppage time and broke down in tears while Japan celebrated their last-gasp luck.

England ultimately beat Germany 1-0 through Williams’ extra-time penalty in the third-place playoff – still their best-ever finish in a global showpiece.

Four years later, the Lionesses beat Norway 3-0 in the last eight in France to set up a semi-final with the United States, who beat England 2-1 en route to defending their 2015 title.

The Lionesses finished fourth overall after losing 2-1 to Sweden in the play-off.

How good are Australia?

The Matildas are 10th in FIFA’s global rankings, six places below England, but can boast they are the only team to have beaten the Lionesses since boss Sarina Wiegman took the helm in September 2021.

That victory came in April, when Sam Kerr and Charlotte Grant both scored at Brentford to snap Wiegman’s 30-game unbeaten streak as England manager with a 2-0 victory.

Captain Kerr was unavailable for her side’s first two World Cup matches with a calf injury, yet the talismanic Chelsea striker’s absence might have actually benefitted the Matildas in the long run as others were asked to step up, with Hayley Raso and Mary Fowler among those who emphatically answered the call for the co-hosts.

Kerr returned as a late second-half substitute in her side’s 2-0 victory over Denmark in the last 16, five days before the Matildas sealed their first-ever trip to a semi-final by beating France in the longest penalty shootout in Women’s World Cup history.

Long gone are the days Australians feared their side could be knocked out at the group stage. Momentum – and an increasingly enraptured nation – are firmly on their side.

What is the biggest challenge facing England?

England will have to cope without star forward Lauren James as she serves the final game of a two-match suspension for stepping on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.

She was replaced by Ella Toone against Colombia, who after the match said: “She’s been amazing for us, but I’ve got to believe in myself and I’ve got to have that confidence going onto the pitch. I don’t let anything get me down, I don’t put that pressure on myself and I know my team-mates don’t either.”

How will England cope with the crowd?

Stadium Australia boasts more than 75,000 seats, most of which will be occupied by the home support.

That does not faze England captain Millie Bright, who said: “For me, no matter who the fans are, you’re actually quite proud of it as well, we want that in a World Cup, we want it to be people turning on the TV and saying ‘god, look at the crowd, it’s incredible’.

“As a player you feel that and you use it to your advantage as well, it’s not a disadvantage that there might be a lot of Australia fans there. “

Everton manager Sean Dyche is confident the goalscoring problem which has affected the team for a year will be solved soon.

Despite creating 19 chances against Fulham, the Toffees slipped to an opening game defeat at home – where the top-flight’s lowest scorers lost a record 10 league matches last season.

Central to the issue is the continuing unavailability of injury-plagued Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose lack of minutes in pre-season means he is still possibly a couple of weeks short of being ready.

However, the arrivals of on-loan Arnaut Danjuma – who made his debut as a late substitute – and young Sporting striker Youssef Chermiti, watching from the stands, will hopefully help to ease the burden as current deputy Neal Maupay wasted a host of chances as he extended his woeful record to one goal in 30 appearances for the club.

“Dominic will get some football this week, amongst others,” said Dyche, who is still looking for reinforcements but knows he must get more out of the limited resources he has.

“He is at the end of his rehab period, so, in the next week or two, we’re going to be stronger, just by our own group and let’s see if we can get something in to help us as well.

“Arnie (Danjuma) is getting fit, properly fit – he knows he’s a bit behind the curve.

“I am confident we have to rely (on players) within the squad because this is what we are at the moment. If we can affect it, we will do.”

Everton had only 41 percent possession but made the most of it and with better finishing could have had the game won by half-time.

While the outcome was disappointing, the manner of the performance was more encouraging than the majority of the relegation scraps they had when Dyche took over in January and guided them to safety on the final day.

“Some of the breakaways, some of the moments, some of the quality of chances were excellent,” the Toffees boss added.

“One of our analysts said about xG, which I’m not that big a believer in but it’s still a reference point, was around three, which is high in the Premier League.

“Inevitably, it’s only a measure but we’ve got to look at where we were and where we are now – and that, I thought, was a big shift.

“Now we’ve got to find those moments to go and score goals.

“But there’s a real strong sign there today, a strong sign of a good outfit there that is creating lots of chances and a lot of good things, so we’ve got to maintain the belief in that.”

Fulham were fortunate to leave Goodison Park with a third successive win and boss Marco Silva admits there is plenty of improvements to be made.

“We need more time to work, our pre-season was not at the level that it should be so we missed a bit of energy,” he said.

“But we were able to win a football match and that shows we have the quality to work.”

England international Jude Bellingham scored on his LaLiga debut as Real Madrid began their league season with a 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao.

Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer, scored his team’s second goal eight minutes before half-time.

Rodrygo had opened the scoring nine minutes earlier, and it proved a dominant display by Real, with Bellingham at the heart of it.

Saturday’s other two LaLiga games finished as draws, with Real Sociedad being held 1-1 at home by Girona and Real Mallorca claiming a point by the same scoreline at Las Palmas.

Takefusa Kubo put Socieded in front after just five minutes at the Reale Arena, but Artem Dovbyk’s header in the 72nd minute secured a share of the spoils.

Las Palmas went in front through Jonathan Viera’s 29th-minute penalty, but the home side could not hold on to that advantage and Antonio Raillo equalised in the second half.

Paris St Germain saw their Ligue 1 campaign begin in frustrating fashion as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Lorient at Parc des Princes.

Despite creating numerous chances, PSG could find no way through resilient opposition and will feel it was a case of two points dropped.

Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Marco Verratti, meanwhile, who have all been linked with moves away from Paris, were left out of the matchday squad by boss Luis Enrique.

And Marseille claimed a comeback victory against Reims at Stade Velodrome, with Vitinha’s 73rd-minute goal securing a 2-1 win after Junya Ito had given Reims the lead and Azzedine Ounahi equalised.