England’s Mary Earps has revealed the public high of winning Euro 2022 and being named FIFA women’s goalkeeper of the year resulted in an unwelcome private battle to “feel human again”.

The Manchester United keeper, set to start in the Lionesses’ World Cup opener against Haiti on Saturday, has cemented her place as England’s number one since the arrival of boss Sarina Wiegman, whom Earps often credits for reigniting a career she once thought had ground to a halt.

Though the 30-year-old loved “experiencing almost how the Kardashians live” at FIFAs swanky February awards ceremony in Paris, she was surprised by the corresponding lows in the aftermath.

Earps, speaking from England’s team hotel in Brisbane, said: “I was speaking with Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher, and we were talking about the difference between winning a tournament and then having a disappointing tournament and how different it’s to come back from that. And I was saying for me personally, I felt like that was the hardest thing I ever did.

“Okay, that’s an exaggeration. Not the hardest thing I ever did, but it was the hardest footballing thing to come back to.

“Like you’ve been on this massive high for so long and then you come back to normal life where you are not in this bubble, you’re not living in this little world, you’re not surrounded by people.

“And it’s absolutely a life of privilege, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a lot to adjust to coming back and going back to training every day.

“Not at that intensity, not at that pressure, but also with that comes an incredible adrenaline rush. And not having that every day, it was hard to find your feet as to what normal felt like. And it probably took me till after December to feel human again.

“And then obviously the FIFA Best came and I felt like I had to start all over again.

“It’s a privilege to be in that situation and a problem that I would love to have every single year, but it was definitely hard to adjust.”

England vice-captain Earps may need to repeat that process again should the Lionesses, among the tournament favourites, lift the trophy that has eluded them in five previous World Cup appearances.

At the beginning of 2021, Earps was on the verge of quitting football altogether. Her contract at United was coming to an end and she had not featured for England since November 2019.

Yet Wiegman saw something in Earps when she took the reins in September 2021 and recalled the Nottingham native and 2019 World Cup veteran as part of her first selected squad, handing her a fresh start in England’s 8-0 victory over North Macedonia to begin the World Cup qualifiers.

Earps, who was also offered a new deal with United, has seized the opportunity with both gloves ever since and was instrumental in ensuring four of the Lionesses’ six matches in their unbeaten run to lift the Euro 2022 trophy were clean-sheet victories.

Perhaps Earps’ path is most aptly illustrated by her journey to and from the FIFA awards, where she had a personal security guard named Johnny and the “surreal” experience of discussing the finer points of goalkeeping with Argentinian World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez and Arsene Wenger.

Earps took EasyJet on the way there, but flew business class on the way back, where she was closer to the front than she had ever been in her life.

Yet before the Golden Gloves, the first-class keeper was determined to elevate England to new heights.

She added: “I always thought it was there. I didn’t think that it would burn as deeply as it’s burning. It’s like a fire in your belly that I’ve always had. But I think you’re always trying to achieve things that you don’t know if it’s going to be possible.

“You’re like, that’s what you’re striving for, you’re striving for this excellence and you’re constantly on this pursuit of, ‘How far can I go? How high can I go?’

“And to actually achieve those things just makes me want to fill my cabinet with even more trophies and medals really. It doesn’t make me feel like, ‘Job done’, which I thought that it would. It makes me just want to do more, do better.”

Charlie Hills could send smart prospect Iberian to Ascot next weekend as he builds towards “bigger and better things”.

The Lope De Vega juvenile produced a sparkling debut win at Newbury, where he travelled strongly in an extended six-furlong novice and led easily with two furlongs to run.

He just had to be shaken up to score by Rossa Ryan and shot to the top of the pecking order at a yard brimming with smart youngsters.

Iberian was due to have his second start in the Group Two Superlative Stakes, won by City Of Troy, who is now favourite for next year’s 2000 Guineas.

However, the rain-softened ground saw the Teme Valley and Ballylinch Stud-owned colt withdrawn.

Hills is now eyeing the Listed Flexjet Pat Eddery Stakes over seven furlongs on the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Stakes card.

“We pulled him out at Newmarket because of the rain,” said Hills.

“I’m not sure where we will go, but we might look at Ascot – the Pat Eddery, what used to be known as the Winkfield Stakes.

“He is absolutely fine. He’s done well since his debut and he looks a nice horse to me.

“We will see how we go, take it one step at a time and hope he goes on to bigger and better things.”

Flanker Lewis Ludlam says England’s players are self-policing the consumption of sweet treats in a bid to be in peak condition for a shot at World Cup glory.

Steve Borthwick’s preliminary squad are in the midst of preparations for the tournament in France, which kicks off in just seven weeks’ time.

Players were last week put through their paces in the heat of Italy before returning to home soil to continue building towards next month’s four warm-up fixtures.

Northampton captain Ludlam revealed diet rules and weight monitoring have been relaxed slightly since head coach Borthwick replaced Eddie Jones.

Yet, after exclaiming he had not “seen cake in weeks” after spotting a buffet at the team’s Surrey training base, the 27-year-old insists players are not allowing each other to give in to temptation.

“The regime has changed in that it’s not as much forced upon you – you’ve got the trust to do everything the right way so we are in the best position to go and put ourselves in the best spot this World Cup,” he said.

“There’s a general feeling amongst the squad that we’ve got to be on the money and making sure we’re making decisions so we are better rugby players the next week and the next month.

“It is a good group of lads and we keep each other in check.

“There might be a birthday cake here and there but I think the lads are pretty understanding of what’s ahead of us.

“In the grand scheme of things, it is a short time in our career when we can be really on it to give ourselves the chance of creating some really special memories.”

England take on Wales home and away in early August and then face Six Nations champions Ireland in Dublin and Fiji at Twickenham before heading to France to begin their Pool D campaign against Argentina on September 9 in Marseille.

Borthwick’s appointment last December led to Saints star Ludlam being surrounded at Test level by a management team previously in charge of his club’s fierce rivals Leicester.

The 19-cap back-row forward initially found it strange setting aside hostilities and having old enemies as allies.

But he believes the England setup – led by former Tigers coaches Borthwick, Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Tom Harrison – is beginning to feel like a club environment.

“It was weird to get over in the beginning, especially Tom, who obviously loves Leicester and having been up against him a few times,” said Ludlam.

“Now, because we’ve been in camp for a long period of time – we don’t normally get this long period without games – it’s starting to feel like a club coming together rather than an international team where you’re only in for six weeks or whatever.

“It’s starting to come together really nicely into one unit.”

England’s final 33-man World Cup selection is due to be announced on August 7.

Injured quintet Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Ollie Lawrence, Ollie Chessum and Jack Walker, who were not included in Borthwick’s initial 41-strong training squad, are continuing their rehabilitation.

“They’re good, they’re on their programmes and working extremely hard to get themselves ready,” said scrum coach Harrison.

“Everyone’s got different timescales but they’re doing their best to be available.”

Flanker Lewis Ludlam says England’s players are self-policing the consumption of sweet treats in a bid to be in peak condition for a shot at World Cup glory.

Steve Borthwick’s preliminary squad are in the midst of preparations for the tournament in France, which kicks off in just seven weeks’ time.

Players were last week put through their paces in the heat of Italy before returning to home soil to continue building towards next month’s four warm-up fixtures.

Northampton captain Ludlam revealed diet rules and weight monitoring have been relaxed slightly since head coach Borthwick replaced Eddie Jones.

Yet, after exclaiming he had not “seen cake in weeks” after spotting a buffet at the team’s Surrey training base, the 27-year-old insists players are not allowing each other to give in to temptation.

“The regime has changed in that it’s not as much forced upon you – you’ve got the trust to do everything the right way so we are in the best position to go and put ourselves in the best spot this World Cup,” he said.

“There’s a general feeling amongst the squad that we’ve got to be on the money and making sure we’re making decisions so we are better rugby players the next week and the next month.

“It is a good group of lads and we keep each other in check.

“There might be a birthday cake here and there but I think the lads are pretty understanding of what’s ahead of us.

“In the grand scheme of things, it is a short time in our career when we can be really on it to give ourselves the chance of creating some really special memories.”

England take on Wales home and away in early August and then face Six Nations champions Ireland in Dublin and Fiji at Twickenham before heading to France to begin their Pool D campaign against Argentina on September 9 in Marseille.

Borthwick’s appointment last December led to Saints star Ludlam being surrounded at Test level by a management team previously in charge of his club’s fierce rivals Leicester.

The 19-cap back-row forward initially found it strange setting aside hostilities and having old enemies as allies.

But he believes the England setup – led by former Tigers coaches Borthwick, Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Tom Harrison – is beginning to feel like a club environment.

“It was weird to get over in the beginning, especially Tom, who obviously loves Leicester and having been up against him a few times,” said Ludlam.

“Now, because we’ve been in camp for a long period of time – we don’t normally get this long period without games – it’s starting to feel like a club coming together rather than an international team where you’re only in for six weeks or whatever.

“It’s starting to come together really nicely into one unit.”

England’s final 33-man World Cup selection is due to be announced on August 7.

Injured quintet Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Ollie Lawrence, Ollie Chessum and Jack Walker, who were not included in Borthwick’s initial 41-strong training squad, are continuing their rehabilitation.

“They’re good, they’re on their programmes and working extremely hard to get themselves ready,” said scrum coach Harrison.

“Everyone’s got different timescales but they’re doing their best to be available.”

Lewis Hamilton has criticised Red Bull’s decision to axe Nyck De Vries after just 10 races.

Daniel Ricciardo has been handed a second chance in Formula One, replacing De Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri for the concluding dozen rounds of the year, starting at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

De Vries, 28, crashed on multiple occasions and failed to score a single point, with a best finish of 12th in Monaco, before he was handed his marching orders by Red Bull’s ruthless motorsport adviser Helmut Marko 48 hours after he finished 17th and last at the British Grand Prix.

“I am not surprised to see Daniel back but I was surprised to see the decision they took for poor Nyck,” said Hamilton at the Hungaroring.

“He is such a talented young man and a nice guy. The future is bright for him and there will be opportunities for the future. But that is how Red Bull do it.”

When it was suggested to Hamilton that De Vries’ dismissal is a reminder of how F1 works, the seven-time world champion replied: “I would say that is how Red Bull work.”

Ricciardo’s career looked to be all but over after he was dumped by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team.

But the popular 34-year-old impressed in a test at Silverstone for Red Bull last Tuesday, and given Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form – which has seen him fall 99 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen – AlphaTauri’s move to hire the Australian will fuel speculation that he could land a return to the team which carried him to seven of his eight victories.

Speaking at the world champions’ packed motorhome earlier on Thursday, Ricciardo said: “The dream is a Red Bull seat, but there is no ‘this is what you need to do’ to achieve that.

“Given what has happened over the past few years and taking time off, I knew it would be hard to get back in at the top.

“Of course that was my wish, but you need to be realistic, and if I want to get back into Red Bull it will be a process, and this is the best path for me at the moment.

Ricciardo’s reputation in the sport is on the line following his poor period with McLaren which saw the British team move to cancel his contract.

Ricciardo failed to land a seat for the 2023 campaign and instead elected to return to Red Bull as a reserve driver.

But he might struggle to impress with a team currently rooted to the foot of the constructors’ table, taking just two points all season.

However, Ricciardo added: “Over the past few years, I started falling into a trap where I believed the car does not suit me and you can be your own worst enemy. I know this car will have limitations but I will work with that.

“Getting this opportunity is a chance to make things better. That is why I am excited to get back behind the wheel and show my true self.

“I had enough time off to reset and also enjoy it again. Six months ago, I wasn’t at a place to jump at an opportunity like this but that has been the luxury of time.

“I have fallen in love with it again and I feel myself in an environment that provides me with a lot of nostalgia, so when the opportunity came along it was like, ‘let’s try it’.”

Tommy Fleetwood rode a wave of home support to the top of the leaderboard on day one of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Roared on by a partisan crowd, the 32-year-old from Southport carded six birdies and a solitary bogey in an opening 66 to share the clubhouse lead with South African amateur Christo Lamprecht on five under par.

Former champion Stewart Cink, who denied 59-year-old Tom Watson a fairytale victory at Turnberry in 2009, rolled back the years himself with a flawless 68 matched by US Open champion Wyndham Clark, with Jordan Spieth and club member Matthew Jordan round in 69.

Fleetwood revelled in the support of the large galleries as he bids to win his first major title in memory of his late mother Sue, who died on July 21 last year.

“It really was a great day,” Fleetwood said. “It’s always very nerve-wracking playing in front of your home crowd in such a big event, but I got off to a decent start.

“I was actually happy to have to get up and down on the first, holing a putt really settled me down and to get that going on the back nine was really, really cool. To get that support all day was amazing.

“If you’re not going to enjoy this atmosphere and these experiences then what’s the point? Make sure you have the time of your life out there.

“Being this close to home is the coolest thing and I’m so grateful to everyone that cheers me on.”

Lamprecht had set the early target thanks to a round containing seven birdies and two bogeys, the 6ft 8in 22-year-old having qualified by winning the Amateur Championship at nearby Hillside a month ago.

Aided by playing alongside mentor Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 winner, Lamprecht carded the lowest round by an amateur in any major since England’s Tom Lewis shot 65 at Royal St George’s in 2011.

“I’d probably say the first tee shot was the only bit of nerves I had all day,” Lamprecht said.

“I just kind of walked off the first tee box after hitting my snap hook drive, and my caddie just told me, ‘listen, you’re playing The Open as an amateur, no need to stress’. We kind of had fun from there.

“It’s pretty surreal to be leading. [But] I think I earned my spot to be here. I think the way I played today I earned to be on the top of the leaderboard, as of now.

“It’s not a cocky thing to say. I just personally think I believe in myself, and I guess stepping on to the first tee box if you’re a professional or a competitor, you should be believing that you should be the best standing there.”

Jordan struck the opening tee shot at 6.35am, but the early start did not prevent him attracting plenty of support from fellow Royal Liverpool members, friends and family.

“Amazing. I’m kind of running out of words to describe it,” Jordan said of the reception he received. “It was crazy, mental, loud – everything that I could have wished for.

“I’m certainly trying to think of a better experience than that, and I don’t think I can.”

The controversial new 17th hole claimed its first victim with Lucas Herbert, joint-leader at the time on three under, making a triple-bogey at the 126-yard par three.

Herbert missed the green to the left, chipped across the putting surface into a bunker, left his next in the sand and eventually finished with a six.

My Prospero could seek a confidence-boosting success in the Sky Bet York Stakes on Saturday week.

Trained by William Haggas, the four-year-old was unlucky not to bag at least one Group One contest last term.

He was beaten a neck when third to Coroebus in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and returned to the Berkshire track to run Bay Bridge to half a length when third in the Champion Stakes.

Things have not gone according to plan so far this term with a fourth-placed effort in the Lockinge over a mile on his return at Newbury in May, before filling the same position when beaten over six lengths by Mostahdaf in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A drop back to Group Two company over 10 furlongs on the Knavesmire could now be an appealing option for My Prospero, for a race which is the highlight of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival on its final day.

Haggas said: “We are looking at York next Saturday. He has run in two Group Ones (this season) and we just want to get his confidence, get him back winning if we can.

“It will be a tough race, but he’s a pretty nice horse and he looks and seems well, so hopefully he will run a good race.

“He is a good horse. He hasn’t done badly, he’s been fourth – but I was a little disappointed with him at Ascot. We have freshened him up a bit and hopefully he will run well.”

Meanwhile, Desert Hero has been pencilled in for the Group Three Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on August 3.

A son of Sea The Stars, the three-year-old earned a third success in five career starts when recording a famous victory under Tom Marquand in the King George V Stakes.

His head verdict over Valiant King gave the King and Queen their first success at Royal Ascot.

Haggas said: “It is looking like he will go for Gordon Stakes.

“It was the Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton or the Gordon, but Sir Michael (Stoute) is running another of the King’s in the Glasgow Stakes (Circle Of Fire) and we are going for the Gordon.”

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw credited her side’s resilience but lauded Australia’s attacking threats despite the absence of Sam Kerr after their 1-0 defeat to the joint-hosts in the Women’s World Cup.

Steph Catley’s 52nd-minute penalty was enough for the Matildas to overcome a dogged Ireland and get them off to the perfect start in Group B.

The hosts were without captain Kerr, with the Chelsea striker set to miss the next two matches of her home World Cup with a calf injury.

Pauw praised her team’s reaction to going a goal down and their overall performance despite defeat.

“It was impossible to switch play in the first half because they (Australia) did really well but in the second half we found solutions and we made changes to make sure we had control in those areas,” Pauw said.

“We had more opportunism in our play because we needed to score and I think that worked out really well. Abbie (Larkin) and Lucy (Quinn) were fantastic when they came on.

“Sam Kerr is of course one of, if not the top striker in the world so the fact that she did not play was a surprise for us but Australia have so many fast and attacking players that our game plan did not change because of that.

“We had prepared for that (top attacking players) and we had taken all their intentions out to get beyond our defensive line, they were not there once and that’s a huge compliment for our team as that’s what they were aiming for.”

Tony Gustavsson credited Kerr’s leadership off the pitch.

The Matildas manager admitted he did not want Ireland to learn the news of her injury prior to Thursday’s fixture.

“She (Kerr) means a lot for us emotionally, spiritually and with that team spirit for sure and Steph (Catley) as a vice captain, the way those two lead this team is amazing,” Gustavsson said.

“Sam is a massive part of Ireland’s game plan and we didn’t want to give that away in advance but once we come to the stadium we didn’t play any type of mind games, we were honest with the team sheet but we wanted to wait to the last second to not give away too much in tournament football.

“I ask for some understanding with that, I hope it’s OK. It’s obviously devastating for us and the players.”

Moeen Ali reached the Test all-rounder’s benchmark of 3,000 runs and 200 wickets as he batted against Australia at Old Trafford.

The England spinner, promoted to number three in the batting order for the fourth Ashes Test, flashed a Pat Cummins delivery wide of gully to reach 24 for his innings and exactly 3,000 runs in the format before immediately celebrating with a more authentic boundary through the covers.

He is the 16th player and the fourth Englishman to reach both landmarks and, here, the PA news agency looks at that select group.

Awesome foursome

Moeen brought up 200 wickets with the scalp of Steve Smith in Australia’s second innings of the third Test at Headingley.

With Ollie Pope out injured, he put his hand up to bat at three in England’s chase in Leeds and would have had hopes of making the 28 runs he needed to tick off both marks in one match.

Just five were forthcoming but he took his opportunity on the second morning in Manchester.

Moeen’s five centuries include a best of 155 not out against Sri Lanka in 2016 while he also has five five-wicket hauls, his best figures being six for 53 against South Africa in 2017.

He joins team-mate Stuart Broad and past greats Sir Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, in the 3,000/200 club.

Broad had his own moment in the spotlight on day one of the fourth Test with his 600th wicket, just the fifth man ever to achieve that feat, which he paired with his 3,640 runs at 18.10 in his 165 Tests prior to this, with a best of 169 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010.

Botham amassed 5,200 runs at 33.54, with 14 centuries and a best of 208, adding 383 wickets at 28.40 to stake a firm claim as statistically England’s greatest all-rounder – he is also the only one of the quartet to have a higher average batting than bowling.

Flintoff reached 3,845 runs and 226 wickets, in only 79 Tests compared to Botham’s 102. Moeen has taken 67 games to reach 3,000 and 200.

Captain Ben Stokes has over 6,000 runs under his belt and could add his name to the list this series, if his troublesome knee allows him to add the three wickets he still needs.

Sweet 16

England have more representatives than any other nation in the group of elite all-rounders, after Moeen broke the previous tie with New Zealand.

The Black Caps have three names on the list in Sir Richard Hadlee, Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori.

South Africa and India have two apiece – Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis for the former and Kapil Dev and Ravichandran Ashwin for the latter, with five other countries having one each.

West Indies great Sir Garry Sobers was the first to achieve the feat, with Imran Khan following as Pakistan’s only representative – Wasim Akram came up 102 runs short.

Australia spinner Shane Warne, Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas and Bangladesh’s former captain Shakib al Hasan complete the list.

Kallis has by far the most runs of the 16 players with 13,289, over 5,000 clear of Sobers (8,032) with Dev and Botham the only others over 5,000.

Warne, with 708, comfortably tops Broad as the leading wicket-taker with Ashwin next on 486.

Alice Haynes is excited to see Asadna make his stable debut in the Ire-Incentive – It Pays To Buy Irish Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury.

The Mehmas colt created a huge impression when storming to a 12-length success on his introduction at Ripon and as a result was widely considered Britain’s chief hope for last month’s Coventry Stakes.

But Asadna could finish only ninth at Royal Ascot, with owner Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah subsequently removing the youngster from George Boughey’s yard and switching him to the care of fellow Newmarket-based trainer Haynes.

The Cadland Cottage handler has been pleased with what she has seen from the two-year-old in his homework and has booked three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy for Friday’s Listed feature.

Haynes said: “It’s obviously a bigger and more competitive renewal of the Rose Bowl than has been the case in previous years, but the ground should suit as long as they don’t get the rain and he seems to be in good order at home.

“We’ll learn a lot about him and we can go from there. We haven’t had him for that long, but I’m happy with what I’ve seen.

“He came to hand quite nicely and did a nice piece of work on Tuesday that I was quite happy with.”

Asadna’s rivals include the Ralph Beckett-trained Palmar Bay, who was last seen edging out subsequent July Stakes scorer Jasour at Salisbury in May.

Jasour’s trainer Clive Cox and owners Al Mohamediya Racing are also represented, with Shagraan stepping up in class following an impressive Windsor success.

“I was very pleased with him at Windsor and he’s come back from the race well. This is a big step up in company, but I hope he’s ready to take that move,” said Cox.

“It’s great we’ve got a very good bunch of two-year-olds that are all moving forwards nicely. If we can keep our 31 per cent strike-rate up, I’d be delighted.”

Richard Hannon’s Dapper Valley looked the part on his debut at Newbury, but needs to bounce back from a disappointing effort in Sandown’s National Stakes.

Balon D’Or has run four good races for Hugo Palmer and steps down in grade after finishing fourth in a French Group Three on his most recent appearance.

Marco Botti’s once-raced Windsor victor Kinnigoli Kid also features in a competitive contest.

Steph Catley ensured co-hosts Australia opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland despite the absence of star striker Sam Kerr.

Catley’s second-half penalty was enough to clinch three points for the Matildas in front of a record crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

However, they had to do it the hard way after their record goalscorer Kerr was ruled out of the first two Group B games with a calf injury suffered in training.

Vera Pauw’s side, making their debut at a major tournament, made life difficult throughout for a side ranked 10th by FIFA, 12 places above Ireland.

But despite a late flurry, they were unable to get themselves back on level terms and will now turn their attention to next Wednesday’s clash with Canada in Perth.

For Australia, there was relief after three hard-earned points were banked to match the feat of co-hosts New Zealand, who had earlier stunned Group A rivals Norway with a 1-0 victory in Auckland, ahead of their second fixture against Nigeria next Thursday.

Boss Jitka Klimkova revealed all remained calm in advance of New Zealand’s 1-0 victory over Norway which opened the Women’s World Cup in Auckland, where a fatal shooting took place on Thursday morning.

The incident, which occurred in the city’s central business district close to Norway’s team hotel, resulted in three deaths – including that of the suspected gunman – with more wounded in what New Zealand Police characterised as an “isolated incident” and “not a national security risk”.

FIFA said a decision was taken to proceed with the match as planned after consulting with New Zealand authorities and the participating teams, who observed a moment of silence for the victims before the tournament kicked off at Eden Park.

The Football Ferns opened their campaign in style as Hannah Wilkinson’s second-half goal was enough to set the pace in Group A.

Klimkova said: “The players today were more preparing for themselves and it was pretty relaxed, but we still gave them the option to speak to the staff to get clarity but I believe the clarity was there, so they were more focussing on their individual preparation.”

FIFA also issued a statement before kick-off assuring they had no safety concerns for the rest of the tournament, which will see England open their campaign against Haiti on Saturday and conclude with the August 20 final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “We appreciate the collaboration with the New Zealand authorities from the earliest moment of this tragic incident.

“We have been involved in ongoing communication from the outset, and we have also received the necessary reassurances from Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson in relation to the safety and security of the participating teams and fans at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

“FIFA extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives, and our thoughts and prayers remain with those who have been injured in this tragic incident.”

Robertson echoed Infantino’s assurances, saying: “This incident is in no way related to the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament and there are no national security concerns. We have provided the necessary assurances about the security of the tournament to FIFA’s leadership this afternoon.

“There is a comprehensive security plan around our hosting of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and we will continue to work with the police who have been part of an operational planning group for the tournament, and as such, have plans in place and were well placed to deal with this morning’s incident.”

An earlier statement from football’s global governing body said FIFA was “in constant contact” with the teams involved and they are “being supported in relation to any impact that may have taken place”.

Norway’s team hotel is located around 400 metres from where the shooting took place, but a team spokesperson told the PA news agency before the match that everything was calm in the Norwegian squad and preparations for the match were proceeding as normal.

Captain Maren Mjelde said in a statement: “Being informed about the consequences, the Norwegian team’s thoughts are with those affected and their families.

“Everyone probably woke up quite quickly when the helicopter hovered outside our hotel window and a large number of emergency vehicles arrived.

“At first we didn’t know what was going on, but eventually there were updates on TV and the local media. We felt safe the whole time. FIFA has a good security system at the hotel and we have our own security officer in the squad.

“Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight, then we may have to adapt if there are any instructions from the authorities.”