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Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott has voiced “disappointment” that the World Cup kiss saga has detracted attention from the Spanish women’s team win. The former England midfielder told The Independent that issues within Spanish football have “overshadowed” the team’s “great football”. Her comments come after the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales has come under sustained criticism for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain secured their 1-0 win over England last month. Rubiales, who was also condemned for grabbing his crotch after Spain won the women’s world title for the first time in history, has refused to step down over his behaviour but was suspended by Fifa. It comes as Jorge Vilda, head coach of Spain's women’s team, was fired on Tuesday after he was among those who praised Rubiales’ refusal to step down. Scott said she felt “disappointment” that the kiss has been “the main talking point”, rather than Spain actually winning the World Cup. “I know that there were girls that decided not to go to the World Cup because they weren’t happy with the way things were going. And that for me is just so sad to hear because it’s a dream to play in a World Cup. “I was so fortunate that I got to do that four times, and it’s something that you dream of from being a young girl, and to think that was taken away from them. First and foremost, that is sad.” Speaking to The Independent in a wide-ranging interview, the Lioness also discussed the bullying she endured as a young girl playing football at school. She said people often thought she was a boy because she played football and questioned how girls could play the game. The 36-year-old said it was “unusual” to see girls playing football back then and said she sometimes suffered worse bullying from parents rather than her classmates. “Sometimes for parents, if a young girl back then – I’m going back 30 years – beat their son, it was a bit of an embarrassment,” she added. Scott said she would attend football camps where she was the one girl alongside 50 boys, as well as going to football tournaments where she was the only girl. The former footballer said even though she was better at football than some of the boys she “never wanted special treatment for being a girl”. Scott added: “I just wanted to play football and as a young kid, I didn't understand why it was such an issue that I just wanted to play football.” She continued: “Once I stepped over that white line, that was where I wanted to be. I could escape everything.” Her comments come as new research by Starling Bank found three in 10 girls stop playing football when they get to their late teenage years – a far higher proportion than the one in ten boys who give up the sport. Researchers, who polled 2,000 11 to 16-year-olds in the UK, found that over a quarter of girls quit football over pressures to perform well at school. Meanwhile, 14 per cent stop playing because of insecurities about their body image and eight per cent bow out of football for being bullied for playing the game. Scott, who is an ambassador for the bank, said social media pressure was partly to blame as it puts pressure on girls to make them feel like they should look a particular way. “It’s kind of this perfect world isn't it, in a sense,” she reflected. “And I think we're all guilty of doing it. We don't want to post a picture unless you look good or if it’s filtered.” Scott explained she has coached football to girls aged between 13 and 15 and you can see they do not want to get “stuck into a tackle” or do not “want to get sweaty” due to anxiety about how they will look. Read More Spanish FA chief blames player for World Cup kiss and shouts ‘I am not resigning!’ in chaotic press conference Spanish soccer federation fires women's national team coach Jorge Vilda amid Rubiales controversy ‘He wasn’t raping her’: Woody Allen offers staggering defence of Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales ‘History in the making’: Lionesses’ Euros success sparks booming interest in women’s football Lioness Demi Stokes says misogynistic abuse online ‘really affected’ England players’ game

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Wales boss Warren Gatland has reported a clean bill of health among his World Cup squad heading into the crunch tournament opener against Fiji. Co-captain Dewi Lake and number eight Taulupe Faletau were among a handful of players who nursed injuries during Wales’ World Cup warm-up Tests. Number eight Faletau played no part in those fixtures due to a calf muscle problem, while hooker Lake went off after suffering a knee injury during Wales’ defeat against England at Twickenham. Ryan Elias, Dafydd Jenkins and Gareth Anscombe have also recovered to be available for Sunday’s Pool C clash in Bordeaux. “The last couple of weeks we’ve had a few niggles – we had eight or 10 players not taking a full part in training,” Gatland said. “Nothing serious, but just a few bumps. They’ve all been rehabbed and everyone is now fit, which is a positive place for us to be in. “He (Faletau) has been taking a full part in training for the past three weeks. “There is no doubt in the first week he was blowing pretty hard in terms of some of the set-piece stuff the boys have been doing for a number of weeks. “That has taken a little bit of time, but we’ve kept a close eye on his GPS figures and they have been excellent for him. “Even though he hasn’t been running around, he has done a lot of off-feet conditioning. Some of the work on the side of the pitch is harder than being on the pitch, and he is definitely in contention for the weekend.” Lake departed during the first half at Twickenham, and the hooker added: “It always plays on your mind when you come off injured 20 minutes into a game. “I am very grateful to be sat here, to the medical staff who got me through the three weeks at home and the coaching staff for selecting me post-injury. “A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get me ready for this weekend.” Wales trained amid temperatures of more than 30 degrees on Tuesday, while the forecast for Sunday’s encounter is for 28 degrees at kick-off, even though the game does not start until 9pm local time. It is understood that World Cup organisers are considering water breaks during the opening round of pool fixtures. “We would like the ball on the park as often as we could. We think we’re in pretty good shape physically,” Gatland said. “In terms of that, we are not going to push back on water breaks if that’s what is decided. We won’t be arguing with World Rugby on that decision.” It will be a fifth successive World Cup for Wales and Fiji to meet in the pool stage, and Sunday’s victors will take a significant step towards the quarter-finals. Fiji are fresh from an outstanding away victory over England, and they are fancied by many to defeat a Wales side with just three wins from 13 Tests. “I thought they were excellent at Twickenham,” Gatland added. “They have got some great athletes, we are aware of that. “They are a lot more structured now as a team than they would traditionally have been in the past. “We’ve got to impose our game on them as well. We know they are a good side at the moment, and a lot of their side play in Super Rugby and in France as well. It’s going to be an exciting challenge. “They have always had incredibly world-class individual athletes who could open up a game. But bringing that organisation and structure makes them more dangerous. “I think from a coaching perspective, the ultimate pinnacle is the World Cup. It’s the one time in international windows that you get full preparation. “It feels like you’re working with a club side in having a pre-season. We’ve been able to work on a lot of things in the last few months in terms of the detail and putting together a strategy.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Clubs send out wrong message playing footballers accused of abuse – Women’s Aid Shane Lowry defends Ryder Cup selection and says Europe have ‘best 12 players’ Ireland trio Jack Conan, Dan Sheehan and Dave Kilcoyne out of World Cup opener

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