The Football Association has deleted a tweet claiming that England Women can go back to being 'mothers and partners' after their third-place finish at the World Cup in Canada.

Mark Sampson's side returned to the UK today after sealing a 1-0 win over Germany.

After the triumph, a post on England's Twitter feed read: "Our #Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title - heroes."

A number of Twitter users criticised the message, which prompted the FA to release a statement, which read: "The full story was a wider homecoming feature attempting to reflect the many personal stories within the playing squad as has been told throughout the course of the tournament.

"However, we understand that an element of the story appears to have been taken out of context and the opening paragraph was subsequently revised to reflect that fact."

James Callow, who wrote the article linked to the post, defended his comments by tweeting: "The piece is intended to sum up a nice moment when players are reunited with their families. Human interest is a big part of any sports reporting. I'd have done the same for England men, absolutely."

Fara Williams scored from the penalty spot to give England the win.