Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend announces his 33-man World Cup squad on Wednesday morning.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how things are shaping up and who is in danger of missing out on the showpiece in France.

Who is already out of contention?

Gregor Townsend named a provisional 41-man training squad on May 9 to negotiate an intense pre-season camp and four warm-up matches prior to the tournament itself. In the intervening three months, the squad has evolved and become more streamlined. Scotland’s record try-scorer Stuart Hogg, who would likely have been a starter, announced his retirement in early July, while back-row Andy Christie dropped out through injury, with his place taken by Josh Bayliss. Ruaridh McConnochie was called in to replace Hogg but the Bath back soon drifted out of the mix due to injury. The weekend before last, stand-off Adam Hastings, lock Cam Henderson, centre Stafford McDowall and wing Kyle Rowe, who was a later addition to the initial squad, were all part of a four-man cull as Townsend trimmed his pool to 37.

Where will the remaining cuts come from?

Townsend said after Saturday’s loss to France in Saint-Etienne that the last four players to leave the squad would be a tighthead prop, a hooker, a back-row and a scrum-half.

Edinburgh hooker set to miss out

George Turner is the most prominent of the four hookers currently in the squad and is certain to go to France. Ewan Ashman, at 23 the youngest and least experienced of the quartet, appears to have a good shout of getting the nod after the new Edinburgh recruit was chosen to start the recent home match against France, when Townsend sent out a near full-strength XV. The places of Edinburgh veterans Dave Cherry, 32, and Stuart McInally, 33, therefore could be in jeopardy. Cherry has featured in only one of the three warm-up matches so far, although he did make a positive impression by scoring the decisive try as a substitute in the home win over France. The following weekend, 2019 World Cup captain McInally, who will retire after this tournament to become an airline pilot, served up a timely reminder of his ability by stepping off the bench to help the Scots stage a rousing fightback in Saint-Etienne.

Prop poser

Zander Fagerson is the first choice and – after dodging a long suspension following his recent red card against France – is assured of a place. Likewise WP Nel, who despite being 37 is still trusted enough by Townsend to start big games, such as last weekend’s match away to France and the Six Nations opener away to England earlier this year. The unlucky one will be either Edinburgh new boy Javan Sebastian or Glasgow’s Murphy Walker. Sebastian’s contribution off the bench on Saturday could help him get the nod over Walker, who has played no part in either of the France matches.

Rowing back on the back-rows

Captain Jamie Ritchie, Jack Dempsey, Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson can all consider themselves safely on the plane on the basis of their form and status within the national team. Veteran flanker Hamish Watson probably also has enough credit in the bank to ensure he is on the plane, although – not helped by injuries – he has not been as prominent for Scotland over the past year or so as he would have liked. The bad news appears likely to be delivered to one of the two least-established internationals in the back-row pool. Luke Crosbie, with five caps to his name, played no part in the double-header against France, while Bayliss – also now on five caps – was not named in the initial 41-man squad.

Warriors scrum-half scrap

Ben White has made the number nine jersey his own since the start of the Six Nations, although Scotland were having his ankle injury – sustained in the France home game – assessed on Monday before finalising the squad. Assuming – as Townsend was expecting – the new Toulon man gets the all-clear, a Glasgow scrum-half will miss out. Ali Price, George Horne and Jamie Dobie have been vying for the nine shirt for the Warriors. Price, with 63 caps, and Horne, who went to the last World Cup in Japan, are significantly more established on the international scene than 22-year-old Dobie, who may have to wait for the following World Cup in Australia.

Owen Farrell will lead England into the World Cup after his red card against Wales was not upheld by a disciplinary panel, making him free to play with immediate effect.

Farrell was sent off at Twickenham on Saturday when his yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Taine Basham was upgraded to a red by the ‘Bunker’ review system.

But the hearing decided that a “late change in dynamics” due to Jamie George’s involvement in the contact area “brought about a sudden and significant change in direction from the ball carrier”.

Using this mitigation it was decided by the all-Australian panel that Farrell – who was expected to face a mid-range sanction of a six-week suspension – should have been hit with a sin-binning only.

Referee Simon Hooper and both video assistant referees from Wolves’ 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on Monday night have been stood down from the next set of Premier League fixtures, the PA news agency understands.

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil revealed he had received an apology from elite referees’ manager Jon Moss after his side were denied a “blatant” stoppage-time penalty when United’s debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic deep into stoppage time.

Hooper did not react to the incident, and VAR Michael Salisbury deemed there was no foul – with an incredulous O’Neil instead booked for his reaction to the decision.

PA understands head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Howard Webb, who has demanded a higher level of accountability as well as an open and transparent approach, had also been in touch with Wolves after the match to apologise.

Hooper, VAR Salisbury and assistant VAR Richard West have all not been selected for the second round of Premier League fixtures.

Appointments for those games had not yet been made public ahead of Monday’s night’s match at Old Trafford. All three officials were absent from the ‘Matchweek 2’ list published by the Premier League on Tuesday morning.

Speaking after Monday’s defeat, during which Wolves created plenty of chances, O’Neil said he thought Onana was trying to “take Kalajdzic’s head off”.

The new Wolves head coach added: “Fair play to Jon (Moss) in coming out (to talk to me).

“He said it was clear and obvious and he can’t believe the on-field referee didn’t give it and he can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene.

“It’s probably made me feel worse to be honest because once you know you’re right you feel worse about leaving with nothing.”

Spain will face either European champions England or co-hosts Australia in Sunday’s World Cup final after a dramatic 2-1 victory in their last-four showdown with Sweden.

Jorge Vilda’s side, who had never won a knockout game at the tournament before their arrival in Australia and New Zealand, could be just 90 minutes away from lifting the biggest prize of all.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at a team which have perhaps already-exceeded even their own expectations.

Coach

Vilda learned his football at the feet of his father Angel, who worked as a physical trainer for – among others – Luis Aragones at Atletico Madrid, Johan Cruyff at Barcelona and Jupp Heynckes at Real Madrid. A physical education graduate, the 42-year-old was appointed boss in 2015 having worked with Spain’s under-age teams, but had to significantly remodel his squad after a rebellion in 2022 which saw 15 players make themselves unavailable – Aitana Bonmati, Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey have since returned to the fold – in protest at the conditions under which they were having to operate.

Key players

Twice Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas is undoubtedly the star of the Spain squad on paper, but having fought her way back from the anterior cruciate ligament injury she suffered on the eve of last summer’s Euros, the 29-year-old Barcelona midfielder has been used sparingly in the tournament and played only the opening 57 minutes of the semi-final, one of three starts to date. In her absence, Bonmati, Alba Redondo and Jennifer Hermoso have each scored three times, but Barca team-mate and former international sprinter Salma Paralluelo, 19, has proved the woman for the big occasion with vital strikes from the bench in both the last eight and the semi-finals.

Pedigree

Spain are playing at their third World Cup finals tournament, but had never before progressed beyond the last 16. They reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2022, where they led eventual winners England with six minutes of normal time remaining before going down 2-1 in extra-time. Ranked sixth in the world by FIFA, they are an emerging force in the international game and are bidding to add the senior World Cup to those they currently hold at under-17s and under-20s levels.

Style of play

Vilda favours a 4-3-3 formation and a possession-based game which he believes is aligned to the philosophy instilled by Cruyff during his time in charge at Barcelona. The system relies on high-tempo passing and movement and a relentless press in attack to create the space in which their highly-technical game-changers can thrive. Familiarity is a weapon too – seven of the starting XI against Sweden play their club football with Champions League winners Barca.

Mackenzie Arnold insists there is “much more to come” from the legacy Australia can leave as they aim for World Cup semi-final success against England.

The goalkeeper provided the heroics in the co-hosts’ quarter-final penalty shootout against France with her spot-kick saves to help them reach the last four.

Their performances throughout the tournament have sparked plenty of support from the Australian public, but Arnold knows there is still work to be done.

She told a press conference: “I think the legacy that we wanted to leave throughout this World Cup, to inspire the generation coming through, I think we’ve done more than that. I think we’ve done more than what we thought we would accomplish.

“Obviously we’re not done yet, but again, to see the reaction that we’ve received from the whole country has been absolutely unreal, and I think this is only the beginning, and I think there’s much more to come.”

Australia went the full distance with extra time and penalties during Saturday’s quarter-final, which ended goalless after regulation time.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson made three substitutions during the match, but he is not concerned with any fitness worries for Wednesday’s semi-final.

“What we’ve done is we’ve focused on recovery, so each player will follow an individual plan between the games,” he said.

“Some have done more football than others. It’s all about being as fresh as possible for the game tomorrow.”

One fitness worry for Australia has been that of star striker Sam Kerr, who has had her game time throughout the tournament limited due to injury.

The Chelsea forward was substituted on in the 55th minute of the France game and Gustavsson confirmed that she is involved in plans for the England clash.

He added: “When it comes specifically to Sam (Kerr), she pushed through more minutes than we hoped for, to be honest.

“One of the reasons that we kept her on the bench was that we were uncertain how many minutes she had coming back from that calf injury, but also the limited training minutes she had.

“The way she pushed through was fantastic and impressive, both from a mental and physical aspect. She recovered well, she trained today so she’s available.

“There will be a meeting tomorrow to see, again, the best starting 11 and the best finishing 11, and whether we plan for 90 minutes or plan for extra time and those type of decisions.

“There will be some tough decisions tonight again but Sam is available for selection.”

Australia’s clash with England will see plenty of teammates pitted against each other, with several members of the Matildas squad representing Women’s Super League clubs.

Arnold plies her trade with West Ham, who finished eighth in the WSL, and praised the progression of the league.

“All of us that play over in that league can say it’s a different world coming from the W-League,” she said.

“The amount of professionalisation and the talent that they have over there, the time they put into their clubs and players, it really shows the progress both of them individually and the game as a whole.

“After seeing the Euros and them winning that and seeing how much it really took off and how much money was invested over there, it just really goes to show the progression they’ve had.”

Dual Breeders’ Cup winner Modern Games has been retired from racing.

Trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, the son of Dubawi won four of his six two-year-old starts in 2021, culminating in Grade One success in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar

Pitched into Classic company first time out at three, Modern Games won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp before going on to add another Grade One verdict in the Woodbine Mile in Canada and land the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland.

He was out of luck on his return at that track when second in the Maker’s Mark Mile in April this year, but did go on to secure a fifth top-level success in the Lockinge at Newbury the following month.

Last seen when beaten into fourth in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, Modern Games will now embark on a stud career, with further plans to be announced.

Appleby told www.godolphin.com: “Modern Games was a brilliant horse to train and such a great advert for Godolphin. To win at two Breeders’ Cups, to be part of our trio of Guineas winners in 2022, and to land the Lockinge Stakes this season, shows his class, toughness and durability.

“He answered every call we asked of him, and we will miss him at Moulton Paddocks. I’m sure he will be a huge success in his next career as a stallion.”

Micky van de Ven has predicted Tottenham can achieve “beautiful things” under attack-minded Ange Postecoglou.

The Dutch defender was thrown into the deep end in Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brentford after only three training sessions with his new team-mates, but impressed in the 2-2 draw.

It had been a whirlwind week for Spurs with growing speculation over record goal-scorer Harry Kane eventually resulting in his departure for Bayern Munich on Saturday.

A degree of optimism remains rife amongst supporters following a busy summer of transfer activity and with a new bold, front-foot approach set to be adopted by Postecoglou.

“It’s an amazing club,” Van de Ven reflected after his debut. “I had a good meeting with the trainer and it was a really good meeting.

“He’s a really good trainer. I love the club, I love the players and I think there is so much potential under this trainer so we will see where this season heads.

“He has a good view on football, that’s what I think. Attacking football is what I love, playing with a lot of space in the back doesn’t matter for me.

“Offensive football is what I like and I think if we play a lot of offensive football and we train, we train, we train then I think we can do some beautiful things.”

Spurs had chased Netherlands Under-21 captain Van de Ven all summer and eventually secured his services on August 8 for an initial £34.5million fee, which could rise to £43.1million in add-ons.

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Despite featuring for Wolfsburg during pre-season, the 22-year-old had not completed 90 minutes all summer, but Postecoglou’s decision to include him in the starting XI was vindicated.

Van de Ven admitted: “Everything is harder, it’s going quicker and it’s going up and down, up and down. There is no moment in the game where you feel you can rest a bit, you always have to be sharp and 100 per cent focused.

“It is my first game with the team, so of course at the beginning we have to watch a bit how everything is going and afterwards you feel more comfortable. The guys are talking positive to you so that is also helping.

“I trained three days with the team but they gave me some confidence and the trainer was talking to me and also gave me some confidence. I didn’t stress at all that I can’t do it.

“All the trainers were positive, all the players were positive saying ‘do your job, do what you can do and we will help you’ and I think it went well.”

Comparisons to Jan Vertonghen, another left-footed centre-back who started out in Eredivisie, occurred before Van de Ven had even signed his contract at Tottenham.

The ex-Volendam defender revealed he used to study Vertonghen before the Belgian moved to Spurs, where he went on to make 315 appearances and become a hugely popular figure with the club’s fanbase.

“I was always in the stadium when Jan Vertonghen was playing for Ajax so I always saw him play and always said he was a good left-footed, centre-back. I learned some from him as I watched videos of him,” Van de Ven added.

“I watched a lot of times Spurs because a lot of players from Ajax also went to Spurs and also players from Holland.

“Always when you see a player go to Spurs it is an amazing step if you went from Ajax, AZ, PSV to Spurs.

“Of course with the history they didn’t win a prize for a long time but you never know what is going to happen.”

Georgia Stanway has revealed she is leaning on the support of former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick to navigate the highs and lows of England’s World Cup campaign.

The Lionesses, who are bidding to reach the final of the competition for the first time, will take on tournament co-hosts Australia on Wednesday in Sydney for the right to face Spain – 2-1 victors over Sweden in Tuesday’s semi-final – in Sunday’s showpiece.

Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway was introduced to “mentor” Chadwick through her agency while she was still playing for Manchester City, and speaks to him at least once a week – even from 10,000-plus miles away in New South Wales.

Stanway said: “I’m not afraid to say it, I went through a time at City where it was a little bit up and down in terms of my mentality, my position, everything was changing.

“(Chadwick) was my go-to in terms of getting clarity on my position, clarity on what I wanted to achieve in that season.

“It’s just little things. You rely upon a good luck message before the game and he never fails. Always after the game he’s always the first to say something positive and then says, ‘Let me know when you want to talk’. It’s always on my terms, which is so understanding.

“He’s honestly one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and he cares for absolutely everybody. And I think the most important thing is that he removes himself from any equation, and he’s just so focused on making sure that he improves the individual and wants them to be the utmost successful individual as a player and as a person.

“I think it’s just (about) finding yourself.  I’ve found what works for me, so I’m not going to change that.”

Chadwick, now 42, made his senior United debut just months after Red Devils won the treble in 1999, but the joy of seeing his lifelong dream fulfilled was soon overshadowed when the teenager found himself routinely ridiculed for his appearance on the popular BBC panel show They Think It’s All Over.

His mental health suffered severely. Chadwick became “obsessed” with what people might be thinking about him every time he left the house, later admitting in an interview on the club website that he “really did suffer in silence”.

Chadwick, who also played for England at youth level, was privately haunted by the experience for two decades before opening up in 2020, a revelation that resulted in an apology from presenter Nick Hancock.

He has since used his experience of facing adversity as fuel to help players like Stanway reach their full potential, a holistic approach that includes everything from pre-game goal-setting on the eve of matches to ensuring her Munich flat was fitted out with everything she needed.

Though still just 24, Stanway has evolved into one of the leaders on Sarina Wiegman’s 23-woman squad, one of seven England players in this tournament who also featured four years ago in France, when the Lionesses were knocked out 2-1 by eventual champions the United States in their semi-final.

Her maturing process has resulted in a new appreciation for facts over sometimes-misleading feelings when it comes to evaluating her own performances.

Stanway said:  “I am big on numbers. I could come away from the game feeling on top of the world and then my mentor could bring me back down to Earth, and say, ‘Oh, no, your passing was shocking today’.

“So it’s vice-versa and it’s just kind of (about) staying level and staying consistent and being consistent in the way that I am as a person and the way that I am on the field.”

England have been embraced by locals since they arrived in Australia nearly six weeks ago, but Stanway appreciates the semi-final match-up might have cooled down the warm welcome.

She added: “Everyone we speak to, they always say, ‘Good luck until you play Australia’, so we’re kind of feeling that a little bit now.”

Australia opener David Warner has taken a cheeky dig at England ahead of the Women’s World Cup semi-final.

The Lionesses face Australia in Sydney in the last four on Wednesday morning.

The Australia cricket team were unhappy when the ball was changed mid-innings during England’s victory in the fifth Ashes Test last month.

It is something Warner clearly has not forgotten as he wished Australia good luck ahead of the semi-final clash.

He wrote on Twitter: “An early good luck to the The Matildas. Just keep an eye out in case the Poms ask to change the ball.”

Fellow batter Usman Khawaja also chipped in, tweeting: “They going to go with the 2010 ‘Jubulani’ ball.”

The winners of Wednesday’s showdown will face Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Captain Millie Bright expects the hostile environment England will encounter against Australia in their World Cup semi-final to feel like well-trodden territory for the European champions.

Wednesday’s game is a sell out at the 75,000-plus capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney, with the vast majority issued to home supporters, who have backed their side in rapidly-rising, record-smashing fashion.

While the Lionesses – who are hoping to advance to a first-ever final – have so far been warmly embraced Down Under, Bright is acutely aware that millions of new friends will soon view them as foes.

She said: “We’re always preparing for that, no matter the opponent. Their fans are always going to want the opposition to lose, that’s football. We know that we’re going to have fans there, yes they’re going to have more, but we’ve been in these moments before and as players we’ve embraced these moments.

“It’s all about us sticking to task, executing the game plan and embracing the moment. It’s the semi-final of a World Cup, you want that environment, you want it to be tense, you want it to be noisy.

“It’s a proud moment in the women’s game when people turn on the TV back home and they see what an incredible atmosphere we’ve created. Credit to Australia for selling out the stadium and creating that atmosphere because like we always know, the women’s game is still on a journey, but what a place to be.”

The target on England’s back, at least publicly, has grown since Bright and her team-mates – 16 of whom are in this World Cup squad – lifted the Euro 2022 trophy at Wembley last summer and firmly entrenched themselves amongst the favourites to win the global showpiece.

Inside the Lionesses’ camp, said Bright, the reality has always been different.

She added: “Honestly, I think for us there’s always been pressure, whether it’s looked like that from the outside or not. I think for us, that’s what pushes us forward.

“That’s what gives us our determination to always challenge ourselves, to be better, to grow. The journey has been long and tough, but without those experiences you don’t develop, you don’t learn, and you don’t go to higher levels.

“I think we have an ultra-competitive group of players and staff where the competitiveness has always been there. It’s part of who we are. It’s our DNA to fight and be competitive and to want to win.”

England’s first appearance in a semi-final came eight years ago in Canada, when Laura Bassett’s own goal in second-half stoppage time abruptly halted their dreams of reaching the final.

The Lionesses won their third-place play-off for a best-ever World Cup finish to date, four years later coming fourth in France, where now-England boss Sarina Wiegman led the Netherlands to the final but ultimately lost to defending champions the United States.

The Matildas are the only side who can boast they have beaten England since Wiegman – otherwise undefeated in 36 matches – took over in September 2021, with a 2-0 victory at Brentford in April.

While she, too, has found herself impressed by the growth she has observed in the ninth edition of the World Cup, expanded to 32 teams for the first time and guaranteed a new champion, that elusive trophy remains at the forefront of her mind.

Wiegman said: “I’m aware that this is very, very special and that what happens in the growth of the women’s game the level has really grown so worldwide people see what’s going on.

“I hope that helps women in football but women in general too.

“But to be honest I’m very focused, so when it’s the game it’s the game, and you just try to block everything out because you have to do a job.”

Australia boss Tony Gustavsson believes his side are fully prepared to rise to the monumental occasion.

He said: “We actually don’t look at it as pressure. We look at it as a privilege that so many people believe in this team, and we feel the support.

“We look at it more as fuel, as energy, than pressure. We don’t look at it as heavy. We look at it as we get carried from underneath and built up, and I feel the belief in us.”

Richard Hannon expects Chindit to thrive for dropping back to seven furlongs in Saturday’s BetVictor Hungerford Stakes at Newbury.

The five-year-old has had three starts over a mile so far this term, winning the Paradise Stakes at Ascot before pushing Modern Games close when second in the Group One Lockinge Stakes at the Berkshire venue in May.

A subsequent spin in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot ended in disappointment and Hannon took him out of the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on account of the testing conditions earlier this month.

The handler is anticipating better ground at Newbury though, and is backing the son of Wootton Bassett to put last year’s eighth place in the race well behind him.

Hannon said: “He’s only had three races this year, this will be the first for his new owner (Villoo Poonawalla Greenfield Farms).

“I’m delighted with the form he is in – he loves Newbury, he’s won the Greenham and finished second in the Lockinge. It looks like coming back to seven furlongs will be ideal for him and hopefully he has an excellent chance.

“He worked very well on the grass on Sunday. The forecast is looking dry leading into the weekend so we are hopeful it will be quick ground.”

Charlie Fellowes is also keeping an eye on the weather as he seeks decent ground for his challenger Marbaan.

The three-year-old bounced back to from when coming home third in the Lennox Stakes over this seven-furlong trip at Goodwood, with Fellowes giving him extra credit as the good to soft ground did not play to the colt’s strengths.

He said: “He ran a cracker at Goodwood in a strong race, the first two horses are clearly Group One horses. We decided to ride him with a bit of patience and he finished well on ground that was probably softer than ideal.

“I think the seven furlongs at Newbury will suit him, we are on weather watch though, I wouldn’t want the ground to be getting too soft. He is definitely better on better ground.

“He looks a picture and is in really good order, his Goodwood run has done him the world of good and I would think he would be very competitive if conditions are in his favour.”

Ben Stokes will end his one-day international retirement to feature for England at this year’s 50-over World Cup, according to reports.

Stokes called time on the longest white-ball format last summer, citing an “unsustainable” schedule following his appointment as captain of the Test team and amid the growing rise of franchise cricket.

England’s talismanic all-rounder continued to play Twenty20s and inspired World Cup success in Australia last November and is now apparently set to perform a U-turn ahead the World Cup in India during October and November.

When Stokes walked away from ODIs last July, it was viewed with the long-term in mind and to give him the best possible chance to lead the red-ball team for as long as possible.

An unbeaten half-century in November helped England beat Pakistan to be crowned IT20 world champions in Australia with white-ball head coach Matthew Mott admitting at the time he would try tempt Stokes out of 50-over retirement.

It seemed an unrealistic aim with Stokes managing a long-standing left knee issue to get through all five Ashes Tests this summer, but honest enough to admit “serious conversations” were required over a potential operation.

With England not due to play red-ball cricket now until January, Stokes was predicted to go under the knife during the coming months, but could now reverse his ODI retirement.

England selectors will meet on Tuesday and name a squad on Wednesday for September’s ODIs against New Zealand and Ireland, which act as warm-up series for the World Cup in India before the tournament begins in October.

A provisional 18-man squad for the World Cup will also be confirmed on Wednesday, with Stokes expected to be included in a huge boost to white-ball captain Jos Buttler.

It was Buttler and Stokes who played a central role in England becoming world champions on home turf four years ago, with Stokes’ 84 not out inspiring a tied match with New Zealand in the final at Lord’s that forced a Super Over.

Further hitting from Stokes would help England set the Black Caps 16 for victory and Buttler’s run-out sealed a maiden 50-over victory for the nation.

He concluded his ODI career with 105 matches, 2,924 runs and 74 wickets.

The PA news agency has contacted Stokes’ representative and the England and Wales Cricket Board for comment.