A 26-year-old worker has died during construction work at Everton’s new stadium.

Merseyside Police confirmed that an injured man later died at hospital “after an incident” at Bramley Moore Dock on Monday afternoon.

They said that “his next of kin have been told and an investigation is under way”.

Everton tweeted that everyone at the club is “heartbroken” by the news a male worker had died following an incident at the site.

They said: “The thoughts and condolences of everyone connected with Everton are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this unimaginably sad time.”

Stadium contractor Laing O’Rourke said they were “shocked and saddened” by the death.

Work at the site has been suspended work “until further notice” with both the police and the Health and Safety Executive in attendance, the contractors said.

In June, Everton said the club would consult with fans as part of their considerations over whether to move into the new stadium midway through the 2024-25 season.

A police spokesman said: “We can confirm that a man has died after an incident at Bramley Moore Dock this afternoon.

“At around 1pm it was reported that a man, aged 26, had been injured.

“He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. His next of kin have been told and an investigation is under way.”

A Laing O’Rourke spokesman said: “We can confirm that earlier today a member of our team, who was carrying out work for one of our sub-contractors, was seriously injured in an incident.

“He was taken to hospital via ambulance, where he sadly died.

“We are shocked and saddened by today’s tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased man and our wider project team.

“The police and the Health and Safety Executive are on site and we have suspended work until further notice. We will co-operate fully with any investigation that follows.”

Moises Caicedo’s £100m move from Brighton continues Chelsea’s lavish spending under Todd Boehly’s ownership group and represents another major profit for the Seagulls.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the two clubs’ contrasting approaches in the transfer market.

Boehly breaks the bank

Chelsea became used to unprecedented transfer outlay under former chairman Roman Abramovich but if anything, Boehly and Behdad Eghbali’s Clearlake consortium have taken it to new levels.

Raheem Sterling was the first signing of the new era for a reported £47.5million last summer, with defenders Wesley Fofana (£70m), Marc Cucurella (£60m) and Kalidou Koulibaly (£34m) the other stand-out deals in a window that saw them spend over £250m in all.

A British record £106.8m deal for Enzo Fernandez and an initial £62m, potentially rising to as much as £89m, for Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk followed in January. The Premier League’s spending of £815m that month was almost double the previous January record of £430m, while Chelsea’s £308m alone would have ranked second on that chart and was more than the rest of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues combined.

That £650m-plus season expenditure – plus pay-offs to sacked managers Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, and a reported £20m to Brighton to lure Potter in the first place – could not help Chelsea to success as they limped to a 12th-placed finish in the league, their worst finish since 1994.

The solution, unsurprisingly, has been to spend another £290m and counting this summer on the likes of forwards Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, defender Axel Disasi – whose debut goal earned a draw with Liverpool on Sunday – and now Caicedo.

With a reported ongoing interest in Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia and an admitted need for another striker following Nkunku’s injury, Boehly’s Blues could be on course for an even larger outlay in this window and potentially even a total outlay topping £1billion within 15 months of their takeover.

Brighton bring in big bucks

Caicedo is the latest off-the-radar discovery to make a huge profit for Brighton, having signed from Independiente del Valle in his native Ecuador for a reported £4.4m as recently as February 2021.

Now seemingly worth up to 26 times that amount if the £15m in potential add-ons in his deal are all activated, the midfielder continues an impressive trend.

In the last three seasons, Albion have sold 10 first-team players who made at least 20 league appearances in the previous campaign and have made a profit on all but two.

The summer 2021 window saw homegrown defender Ben White move to Arsenal for a reported £50m and Dan Burn to his hometown club Newcastle for £13m, a near-£10m profit for the Seagulls.

Alireza Jahanbaksh’s move to Fenerbahce that summer represents Brighton’s only significant loss on a first-team player in that timeframe, the Iran winger leaving for less than £1m having signed for a then club-record fee of almost £17m in 2018.

Neal Maupay, signed for just over £14m from Brentford and sold to Everton last summer for £10m, is the only other player to lose Brighton money in the market but it was offset by selling Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella, both signed for in the region of £15m, for £25m and £60m to Tottenham and Chelsea respectively.

A £7m profit on Leandro Trossard followed with his January move to Arsenal before this summer saw £7m signing Alexis Mac Allister and academy product Robert Sanchez sold for, respectively, an initial £35m to Liverpool and £20m to Chelsea. Caicedo’s move makes it a combined profit of around £245m on the 10 players.

Moises Caicedo has joined Chelsea from Brighton in a deal worth a possible £115million.

The Blues look set to eclipse their own British transfer record having agreed to pay £100m up front for Caicedo, plus a further £15m in potential add-ons.

Here, the PA news agency compares the transfer with previous big-money signings.

Highest transfer fees paid by British clubs

The Caicedo deal is the fourth nine-figure transfer in Premier League history.

The record remains at £106.8m – the amount that Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January – but Caicedo’s move could eventually surpass it should he meet add-on criteria totalling £15m.

The Fernandez fee appears to have set a new precedent for central midfielders, with Declan Rice also having moved from West Ham to Arsenal for £100m plus add-ons earlier this summer.

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish was the first Premier League player to break the £100m barrier, with the former Aston Villa captain having signed for Pep Guardiola’s side in 2021.

Most expensive under-21s

Caicedo is the third player aged 21 and under to command an initial fee of £100m or more.

The Ecuadorian follows in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappe and Joao Felix, who moved to Paris St Germain and Atletico Madrid for £165.7m and £113m respectively.

Mbappe was 19 when PSG secured his permanent transfer from Monaco in 2018, while Felix was the same age upon moving from Benfica to Atletico 12 months later.

Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham’s £88.5m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid continued the German club’s impressive record of signing young players and selling them for a large profit.

Ousmane Dembele – who joined Barcelona from Dortmund as a 20-year-old in 2017 – also ranks in the five most expensive players aged 21 and under (£96.8m).

Highest fees received by British clubs

Brighton are the fifth British club to receive a nine-figure sum for an individual player.

The Seagulls are fast proving themselves as adept as Dortmund when it comes to developing young talent, with Caicedo having joined for an estimated £4.4m from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in 2021.

His sale is the third this summer to breach the £100m mark, after Tottenham and West Ham cashed in on their club captains Harry Kane and Rice respectively.

Liverpool – who Caicedo turned down in favour of Chelsea – have held on to top spot in terms of most expensive sales in Premier League history.

The Reds sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for an initial £105m in January 2018, with a further £37m received in subsequent add-ons.

Al Riffa faces a big ask as he heads to Deauville to take on the unbeaten Prix du Jockey Club champion Ace Impact in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano on Tuesday.

Raiders have won five of the last six renewals of the 10-furlong Group Two contest, however, the last two victories for the home side have been provided by trainer Jean Claude-Rouget and his latest contender will be a warm order to follow in the footsteps of stablemate Al Hakeem, who won this prize en route to finishing fourth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 12 months ago.

Ace Impact finds himself favourite for Europe’s richest middle-distance prize on October 1 following his emphatic French Derby triumph earlier this summer and this contest represents a key step on the road to ParisLongchamp for the son of Cracksman.

He will run for the first time in the colours of the Chehboub family’s Gousserie Racing, who purchased 50 per cent of the colt from Serge Stempniak following his Chantilly triumph.

Pauline Chehboub, racing manager for the operation said: “Ace Impact is in good form and should run well tomorrow.

“We are targeting some exciting Group Ones in the autumn, so tomorrow’s race is important.”

However, despite the presence of Ace Impact, Al Riffa’s trainer Joseph O’Brien is undeterred and feels his charge is well placed to run a big race following his comeback second at the Curragh in the International Stakes.

“We’re hoping for a good run,” said O’Brien.

“Obviously it looks a very good race, but he is in good shape and we think he can run a really good race.”

Al Riffa is a Group One winner in his own right having claimed the National Stakes as a two-year-old and is one of three making the trip from Ireland alongside Aidan O’Brien’s Victoria Road and Greenland.

Both Ballydoyle challengers are capable of playing a part, with the former accounting for Blue Rose Cen before scoring at the Breeders’ Cup during a four-race winning streak last season – a record the Saxon Warrior colt will be attempting to extend on his belated seasonal return.

Meanwhile, stablemate Greenland already has winning form in France this term having landed the Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud in May.

Andre Fabre has won this race more times than anyone else and relies on Compiegne Listed winner Birr Castle, while Ponty (Hiroo Shimizu), Cambronne (Rouget) and Andreas Wohler’s German raider Straight complete the line-up.

Liam Williams has no plans to call time on his Wales career as he prepares for a post-World Cup stint in Japan that will sideline him from the Guinness Six Nations next year.

The Wales full-back is firmly on course to play in a third World Cup, with head coach Warren Gatland naming his 33-player squad next Monday.

After that, though, 32-year-old Williams will feature for Japanese club Kubota Spears in a domestic league that runs from December to May.

Williams won his 85th cap in Wales’ World Cup warm-up defeat against England at Twickenham, delivering a high-class display which was all the more impressive given that he had not played since March.

“I haven’t said I am retiring any time soon,” Williams said, ahead of next Saturday’s appointment with world champions South Africa in Cardiff.

“I will be in Japan for two years and we will see where that takes us and whether I am still available or not.

“I will speak to ‘Gats’ probably after the World Cup and towards the end of the season out there (in Japan).

“If they (Wales) want to take me to Australia for the summer tour next year, I will be available for that, but that is up to them.”

Gatland has hinted that he will include only four back-three players in the World Cup squad, which undoubtedly intensifies competition during the final week before selection.

It would be a huge surprise if Williams does not make the final cut, though – and start Wales’ opener against Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10.

“I said to myself that I haven’t played since March so I am going to go out and have a decent game and have a bit of fun,” Williams added, reflecting on events at Twickenham.

“I was just happy to stick that shirt on again. It has been a little while.

“You can’t really replicate the game intensity when you are training. You can go as hard as you want, but you can’t get the intensity of a game – especially with the rucks and amount of contact you take.

“I felt pretty good in the game. I was just glad to last 80 minutes.

“I am getting on a bit now, I am 32, and I’m just trying to enjoy my last couple of years.

“It is about going out there with a smile on my face, play hard, try to win and, most importantly, I am playing for my country.”

Whatever happens regarding Williams’ Wales prospects after the World Cup, he is enthused by a crop of young backs that have emerged in recent months.

Players like Tom Rogers, Mason Grady, Max Llewellyn, Joe Roberts and Sam Costelow have been part of Gatland’s training squad and Williams believes the future is bright.

“I think it will be great for Wales for years to come,” he said. “These young boys coming through is great – we definitely needed that.

“Sam Costelow has been great, as has Max (Llewellyn). Mason is like a freak of nature, there’s ‘Tommy Rog’ and I thought Joe Roberts was class on the weekend.”

James Harden sure didn't mince his words when speaking about Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey.

In a video that went viral Monday, Harden blasted Morey at a promotional event in China.

"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of," Harden said at the event. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of."

Harden's comments were a response to the 76ers telling Harden's agent, Mike Silverman, that Morey was unable to find a trade for the 10-time All-Star and the franchise wouldn't deal him unless it could find a trade that would help the team contend for a championship. 

Harden picked up his $35.6million player option for the 2023-24 season in late June, and then immediately requested a trade.

The 2017-18 NBA MVP could have declined the option and become a free agent, but was hoping by exercising his option it would facilitate a trade.

There were reportedly some discussions with the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks, but those trade talks stalled.

Acquired in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022, Harden re-signed with the 76ers last summer on a two-year, $68.6million contract that included the opt-out clause, taking less money in order to remain with one of the Eastern Conference's top contenders.

Harden, who turns 34 later this month, was a solid complement to NBA MVP Joel Embiid, averaging 21.0 points and a league-leading 10.7 assists in the regular season to help the 76ers to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, however, he was maddeningly inconsistent.

He had a pair of 40-point performances but averaged just 15.1 points on 30.0 per cent shooting with 8.4 assists in his other nine games, and Philadelphia was knocked out in the conference semifinals for a second straight year after losing to the rival Boston Celtics in seven games.

Philadelphia fired head coach Doc Rivers following the playoff exit and replaced him with former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse.

The 76ers had no comment on Monday, and Harden seems unlikely to attend training camp, which begins in October.

For his career, Harden has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, seven assists and 1.5 steals in exactly 1,000 regular-season games.

If his playing days with the 76ers are done and he is traded, Harden would be joining his fourth team in four seasons.

Longtime Boston Bruins center David Krejci announced his retirement on Monday in a statement released by the team.

“After 15 full NHL seasons I have decided to retire from the best league in the world,” the 37-year-old Czech Republic native said.

“When I was drafted in 2004, I had no idea that I would be working with such incredible and driven people who would lead us to 3 Stanley Cup Finals, and winning the ultimate goal in 2011.”

Krejci made his NHL debut in January 2007 and spent his entire NHL career with the Bruins.

He returned to Boston last season after playing for Czech club HC Olomouc in 2021-22.

In the history of the Bruins franchise, Krejci ranks fifth in games played (1,032), 13th in goals (231), fifth in assists (555) and ninth in points (786).

“David, for 16 seasons you displayed an unmatched combination of creativity, poise, and wit – with an uncanny knack for coming up clutch – while remaining humble and determined through all your success,” the Bruins said in a statement.

“You are a special player, person, and teammate who has made a lasting impact on our organization and our city.

“For all you’ve done for the Boston Bruins, THANK YOU.”

Boston will head into the 2023-24 campaign without its top two centers from a season ago after captain Patrice Bergeron also retired last month.

Cheveley Park Stud’s Chris Richardson has reflected on a “special moment and a great triumph” as Inspiral oozed class in the defence her Prix Jacques le Marois title at Deauville.

The four-year-old is now a four-time winner at Group One level, and was arguably at the peak of her powers on the Normandy coast as she scooted clear of big-race favourite Big Rock following an inspired ride from Frankie Dettori, who was registering a record-extending eighth success in the showpiece event.

The victory was made all the more spectacular coming just 11 days after Inspiral had failed in her bid to topple Paddington in Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes, and Richardson, who is managing director of Cheveley Park, was full of praise for both Dettori and the training heroics of John and Thady Gosden following the filly’s quick turnaround in fortunes.

He said: “Unbelievable, it was fantastic and it’s full marks to every aspect of the team really.

“Frankie really looked after her at Goodwood and as I’ve said before, when he made his move on Inspiral to get the rail, her burst was short lived and he accepted it and just let her come home – and full marks to John for having the courage to say let’s go back 11 days later too.

“It all worked in her favour and I think it was probably one of the best performances of her career.”

Last year Inspiral prevailed by a neck from David Simcock’s Light Infantry, but this time around a stellar cast of milers had assembled and what made the triumph all the more remarkable was Dettori’s ingenious ploy of taking the filly all the way over to the far side of the track from her position in stall one to find the perfect position to mount a winning challenge.

“It was sensational and to be as brave as Frankie was to go from basically draw one to draw 12 and come down the outside having gone a lot further than everybody else, I think even he was as wide-eyed surprised that she just kept on motoring,” added Richardson.

“She loves a fast pace which she got and the ground had dried up enough and she has proved now that she goes on fast ground, good ground and good to soft ground.”

The Marois serves as a ‘win and you’re in’ race for the Breeders’ Cup Mile and a trip to Santa Anita in November is just one of a plethora of options now available for Inspiral, who also holds entries closer to home in the Matron Stakes (Leopardstown, September 9), Sun Chariot Stakes (Newmarket, October 7) and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day (Ascot, October 21).

However, with all connected with the daughter of Frankel revelling in her latest triumph, the dust will be allowed to settle on her successful French raid before plans for later in the season are firmed up.

Richardson added: “Sadly Mrs (Patricia) Thompson (Cheveley Park owner) couldn’t be there, but Richard her son came with me and had a really special day. He was thrilled just like his mother and it was a great lift for everyone really. It was a special moment and a great triumph for all concerned.

“There is lots to think about now. John and I just thought on the plane home we would see how she is in a week to 10 days time. Mrs Thompson is also coming up this week, so we can discuss what plans we might want to consider.

“She has plenty of entries and if the Breeders’ Cup is something Mrs Thompson is prepared to consider then who knows, she might end up there. We will enjoy this moment and enjoy the next few weeks of planning.”

Roger Varian is considering a possible tilt at the Comer Group International Irish St Leger with Eldar Eldarov having been pleased with his latest outing in the Goodwood Cup.

Last year’s St Leger hero started the season with an encouraging performance when second in the Yorkshire Cup, but had a point to prove on the Sussex Downs having disappointed slightly in the Ascot Gold Cup.

Although unable to land a blow on runaway winner Quickthorn in the Goodwood contest, the Carlburg Stables handler was content with the son of Dubawi’s fourth-placed finish where he reversed Knavesmire form with Giavellotto and was also ahead of John and Thady Gosden’s Gold Cup champion Courage Mon Ami.

“It was a muddling race and a frustrating race to watch, but I thought he ran right back to form,” said Varian.

“He was a head behind Andrew Balding’s horse (Coltrane) and reversed the form with the Marco Botti horse who beat him of course at York. We were giving him weight that day whereas off levels we beat him the other day.

“It’s hard not to say that within a 1lb or two, Eldar wasn’t back to somewhere near his best so that is encouraging.”

Running plans are still to be finalised for the four-year-old’s next move, but Varian indicated he would be keen to have a crack at adding the Irish St Leger to the Doncaster equivalent already on his CV.

However, the decision is still to be made whether Eldar Eldarov heads to the Curragh on September 10 fighting fresh or whether he tunes up in either Sunday’s Comer Group International Irish St Leger Trial over course and trip, or next week’s Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup Stakes at York.

“I would really like to run him in the Irish St Leger, so it is working out whether he has a run before then,” said Varian.

“He does have a few options in the next 10 days if he was to run again, or do we go to Ireland with a fresh horse? We just need 48 hours or so to make up our minds.”

Tom Pidcock may be both the world and Olympic mountain bike cross-country champion after Saturday’s success in Glentress Forest but he knows he remains an “outsider” in the discipline’s tight community.

Pidcock underlined his supremacy in Saturday’s cross-country Olympic race at the UCI Cycling World Championships as he shrugged off mechanical problems to comfortably beat Sam Gaze, with 10-time world champion Nino Schurter taking bronze.

But after a weekend of recriminations over preferential grid placements given to a handful of star riders – something Pidcock condemned despite benefitting from – and complaints over his aggressive racing style, the 24-year-old admitted his titles do not give him full membership of the club.

Pidcock secured bronze with a late lunge into the final corner of Thursday’s race, sending Luca Schwarzbauer to the ground, and the German then complained that “no mountain biker would do this at all, like a pure mountain biker, (of) the community”.

Pidcock had defended his riding style after the race by quoting Ayrton Senna, saying “if you no longer go for a gap, you’re no longer a (racer)”.

Asked about Schwarzbauer’s comments on Monday, Pidcock told PA Media: “For sure I am an outsider. I don’t know everyone super well. I know the people I see frequently and race against and the British guys, but I am an outsider.

“I don’t do all the races. I don’t know everybody. I only know a few teams that I’ve worked with in the past, but I am an outsider and when I’m at a race I feel that.”

Schwarzbauer called Pidcock “unsportsmanlike” after their coming together, but for Pidcock the incident was forgotten almost immediately as he turned his focus to his primary target – Saturday’s XCO race.

“I was more annoyed I had to wait an hour for the podium,” he said. “I forgot about it after five minutes.

“But I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any regrets from the short track going into the race because that would have annoyed me. I went in to try and get a medal in front of the home crowd so that’s what I did.”

Before the race Schwarzbauer had been one of 20 signatories to an open letter complaining about a UCI decision to adopt a World Cup rule and elevate road racing stars Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan to the fourth row of the race, rather than the 13th row as their UCI ranking should have placed them.

Pidcock also benefited as he was moved up from the fifth row but, speaking at the race, called the move “bull****” given he had sacrificed three weeks of his preparations for the Tour de France to race in the Novo Mesto World Cup and secure enough UCI points to ensure a decent starting position.

Hunting points will be his mission again when he shows off the rainbow stripes at the World Cup in his adopted home of Andorra later this month and – after he races the Tour of Britain on the road – World Cups in north America in late September and early October.

Those World Cups mean Pidcock will skip the Il Lombardia road race, but his eyes are firmly on defending his Olympic mountain bike title in Paris next summer, after which the 24-year-old knows it might be time to put away both the mountain bike and cyclo-cross bike to focus purely on the road.

“I think the plan with the team is I commit to mountain bike until Paris and after that we have a talk,” he said.

“I sacrificed three weeks of prep for the Tour to do the mountain bike. If I want to ever try and really win the Tour I would have to focus on that, but at the moment it’s working quite well.”

:: Tom Pidcock is a Red Bull athlete. To find out more visit his athlete profile on RedBull.Com

Frankie Dettori expects Mostahdaf to offer up a stern test for Paddington when the duo clash in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Wednesday week.

The weighing-room legend will deputise for the suspended Jim Crowley aboard Mostahdaf on the Knavesmire, and is relishing the opportunity for a final success in the 10-furlong highlight ahead of his retirement at the end of the year.

Mostahdaf took his form to a new level with a four-length triumph in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and Dettori has been acquainting himself with the son of Frankel at John and Thady Gosden’s yard.

He told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast: “I rode him the other morning and he is a beautiful specimen of a horse. He’s strong and has got a lovely stride. He doesn’t overdo himself in the mornings, but we know exactly what he can do and I’m excited.

“What he did in the Prince of Wales’s, I was pretty taken, so he’s going to be there with every chance.”

Mostahdaf will provide a fresh challenge for the Aidan O’Brien-trained Paddington, who has emerged as this year’s leading three-year-old.

The Siyouni colt has won each of his six starts this term, graduating from a handicap victory to Listed success before reaching new heights in claiming the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes.

Having won on ground from heavy to good and shown his stamina for 10 furlongs and speed for a mile, Paddington seemingly has few chinks in his armour and Dettori is well acquainted having finished behind him a couple of times.

However, he is backing Mostahdaf to put up a bold challenge, with his mount an 11-4 chance with Betfred, while Paddington is the 11-10 favourite.

Dettori said: “He’s a good horse. The Sussex was a non-event, but Paddington is still good – he put Chaldean to bed in the St James’s Palace, when I was second, in good style and he beat Emily (Upjohn), so he is the best three-year-old around at the moment.

“But I think this is his test now, he’s taking on a four-length winner of the Prince of Wales’s. It’s going to be a different race to what he’s faced (before), but I have no doubt he is a good horse because it looks like he only does what he has to do and he looks like he’s still got something in the locker.

“We will give him a race and see what happens.”

Defending champion Jumby is one of 13 confirmed for the BetVictor Hungerford Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

Eve Johnson Houghton’s five-year-old ran on strongly to down Dubai Poet in the Group Two contest 12 months ago and will return to the Berkshire track in good order following some pleasing efforts of late.

Although a tilt at Group One level for the Lockinge Stakes was ultimately a step too far, he returned to winning ways in the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock before again hitting the frame when second to Audience in the Criterion Stakes.

“He’s in great form, he just wants firm ground which seems to be missing at the moment,” said Johnson Houghton.

“Hopefully there is no more rain forecast so the ground should quicken up a bit. The faster the ground, the better he goes.”

A strong-cast could be in opposition and William Haggas’ 2021 winner Sacred could provide the sternest test having last been seen rattling the crossbar in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Witch Hunter also got on the scoresheet at the Royal meeting and is one of three in the mix for Richard Hannon who could also saddle Lockinge second Chindit and recent Goodwood scorer Magical Sunset

Roger Varian could be doubly represented by both New Endeavour and Olivia Maralda, while John and Thady Gosden’s Mostabshir is another notable name among those still in contention to make the final line-up.

In the supporting BetVictor Geoffrey Freer Stakes, beaten Derby favourite Arrest is the star name in the 11 entries, with William Haggas’ Klondike also catching the eye.

Spain take on Sweden and England face co-hosts Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the tournament statistics can tell us about the games ahead.

Spain v Sweden

The two top-scoring semi-finalists meet in Auckland on Tuesday, with Spain having scored 15 goals – matching eliminated Japan for the tournament high – and Sweden 11.

The Scandinavians have actually had the fewest attempts on goal of any of the last four, just 62, but have the best conversion rate, having scored with 18 per cent of their shots.

Four-goal defender Amanda Ilestedt is also the unlikely leading challenger to current Golden Boot leader Hinata Miyazawa, whose Japan side Sweden knocked out in the quarter-finals.

Ilestedt aside, the statistics heavily favour Sweden. Among the semi-finalists, they rank first and Spain fourth for total shots and shots on target, ball progressions both attempted and completed, line breaks attempted and take-ons completed.

Some hope for Sweden comes from Spain’s defensive record – their six goals conceded is at least twice as many as any of the other remaining teams. Japan scored four of those, and Miyazawa two, in a surprisingly one-sided final game in Group C – but having beaten the Nadeshiko, Sweden will be confident.

They will also know they can respond if, as the statistics point to, they fall behind – Spain have scored nine goals in the first half of games but seven of Sweden’s 11 have come after the break.

The two teams have each used 22 of their 23 available players, with only their respective third-choice goalkeepers Enith Salon and Tove Enblom yet to play a single minute in the tournament.

Australia v England

England and Australia, by contrast, have used only 17 players apiece and fatigue could be a factor in the second semi-final in Sydney.

England’s 553 minutes played is the most in the tournament, closely followed by their opponents with almost 548 minutes. Five Australians and three England players have played every one of those minutes, with Australia naming nine of the same 11 starters in every game – goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and the back four of Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy and Steph Catley, plus Hayley Raso, Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord – and England six.

Working in England’s favour in that regard could be the distance the respective teams have covered. Their 562.3km is 2.5km lower than any other semi-finalist, with Australia once more ranking second in that regard, and England also have the lowest proportion of that spent sprinting or “high-speed running” at 27 per cent, according to FIFA’s official statistics, and the highest proportion of walking at 39 per cent.

England have scored 10 goals to Australia’s nine and are the most accurate shooters of the remaining teams, with 44 per cent of their efforts on target, while Australia are least accurate at 30 per cent. The co-hosts have had more total shots, 76 to England’s 68, but have allowed 64 at the other end compared to just 52 on Mary Earps’ goal.

Expect England to have the bulk of the possession – they have attempted and completed over 1,000 more passes than Australia, 2,691 of 3,100 compared to 1,584 of 2,061.

Australia are only the second country to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup as host nation, following the United States who won the 1999 final at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and were also semi-finalists in 2003.

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