In the Lionesses' lair

MIRROR TOUR OF ENGLAND'S WORLD CUP BASE

- ANDY LINES

So the final score is: England Women 1 England Men O.

The Lionesses have certainly got one over their male counterparts with an absolutely stunning team HQ for this month's much-awaited World Cup. They play their final warm-up game in Milton Keynes against Portugal today before flying Down Under on Wednesday.

And the Mirror was given an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the England hotel, training base and the World Cup grounds including Sydney's Stadium Australia where the final will be played.

It's the same ground where Jonny Wilkinson's last-gasp drop goal won the Rugby World Cup for England in 2003.

The hotel and location for the World Cup second favourites is far superior to those of the men's side in Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

To be fair there have been some noise issues and the hotel management at the Crowne Plaza have had the occasional complaint. But there is nothing they can do about the sound of Pacific Ocean waves crashing on to the idyllic sandy beach, which can be quite loud at night.

And England's training facility, which is a 20-minute bus ride away, is equally impressive. The FA have secured the main 20,000 capacity stadium of the Central Coast Mariners - who are the top team in Australia after winning the A League the Aussie equivalent of the Premier League.