• Squad unimpressed to fly economy for SheBelieves Cup • Neville: ‘I want the players to keep their feet on the ground’

England’s women will find they have been upgraded when they check in for their flight to Kazakhstan before the potentially crucial final World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

A lack of direct scheduled flights to Astana and Almaty dictates that Phil Neville’s side will travel on a business‑class charter plane hired by the Football Association for the seven-hour, 3,500-mile flight east.

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Although England’s manager predicts this will go down well with his squad, who were unimpressed to have to fly economy class to and from the SheBelieves tournament in the United States last April, Neville believes there is something to be said for sitting at the back of the plane.

“There was a lot made about the business‑class situation after SheBelieves,” said the former Manchester United, Everton and England full-back, whose side first face Wales in Newport on Friday. “But it was actually a situation I wasn’t that concerned about.

“That’s because I want the players to keep their feet on the ground. I want the players to earn everything they get. And the senior women’s team get everything, we get incredible service. We stay in the best hotels, the players get more kit than you can probably imagine.

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“The FA have always promised me they’ll give me everything to try and make us the best team in the world but I’ve said to them: ‘Look, business‑class flights are probably the fifth or sixth thing on my list where I need your help.’ But, this time, because of the game being in Kazakhstan, they’ve said to me we have to go by special charter this time and it does help with our preparation. I haven’t told the players yet –because it’s not that big an issue to me.”

By then England – who travelled business class by scheduled airline to the 2015 World Cup in Canada – could have qualified for the World Cup finals in France courtesy of a win against Wales. Alternatively, defeat at Newport would consign them to the plays-off, while a draw would leave them requiring at least a point in Kazakhstan.