9 June 2019 • 7:17pm From a surprise penalty scorer in Jordan Pickford to a more conventional one here. The figure of a darting Nikita Parris, forehead gleaming in the oppressive Nice heat, leaping into the celebration for her first World Cup goal, fists pummelling the air, embodied England’s slick, impressive opening performance and they ultimately saw off an inferior Scotland side with very little strain. For all the consternation and hand-wringing that had followed their stalling send-off at Brighton, the fear of an injury Millie Bright, replaced by Abbie McManus after the Chelsea centre back landed on her shoulder after stumbling over Erin Cutbert, is, realistically, the only worry that will dominate Phil Neville’s thoughts given he is already monitoring the fitness of Demi Stokes and Toni Duggan. Inevitably, enthusiasm is tempered somewhat by the nagging feeling that this was an unfair balance of resources. You can, of course, only play what’s in front of you, but England’s best two players – Parris and Bronze – play for the richest women’s team in the world in Lyon. Of Scotland’s final 23, seven are usually part-time players. They have had government funding for the past six months to enable them…