England’s bright start fades as Portugal claim draw in Nations League opener | OneFootball

England’s Nations League campaign got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 1-1 draw in Portugal.

Following a bright start to their opening Group A3 match, Alessia Russo put the Lionesses in front after slotting home from Lucy Bronze’s brilliant cross from the right flank.

A shift in momentum saw Portugal begin to threaten after the break and, following a spell of pressure, they earned an equaliser through substitute Kika Nazareth’s stunning top corner finish.

England are back in Nations League action at Wembley on Wednesday where they face group leaders Spain, who needed a late goal to beat Belgium in their opening fixture.

After a controlled start to the game, Lauren James had the first chance for England after cutting in from the left and smashing an effort just over the crossbar.

Moments later Grace Clinton threaded a neat pass into Manchester United team-mate Ella Toone, who rolled her shot past the far post.

The Lionesses struck in the 15th minute of the game when Bronze made a great touch to control a cross-field pass from James and the right-back launched a menacing cross into the centre of the area for Russo, who coolly tapped the ball past Ines Pereira.

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(Getty Images)

The game settled down into a comfortable period for England, who retained possession and acted quickly to smother any rare Portugal attacks, as the hosts struggled to create dangerous moves in opposition territory.

James had another effort flash past the far post before an error at the opposite end of the pitch saw Leah Williamson bundle the ball into the path of Diana Silva in the box, but the forward blasted her shot wide.

Jess Carter replaced Bronze at half-time and Pereira was tested in the early stages of the half, pushing a powerful James shot wide at the near post.

England were unable to make the most of their opportunities from corners throughout the match, but they had a chance when a short set-piece was played into James on the edge of the box, who hit another strike over the bar.

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(The FA via Getty Images)

A triple substitution in the 59th minute saw Portugal spark into life and they applied more pressure, coming close when Diana Silva cut in from the right only for Mary Earps to make an easy save from the resulting shot.

Ana Borges then hit a promising cross into the box, but none of her team-mates could find a connection.

A dangerous spell eventually reaped rewards for Portugal in the 75th minute when Barcelona forward Nazareth burst past Clinton and raced into box before smashing the ball into the top corner.

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Portugal continued to threaten and Williamson made a crucial block to deflect Nazareth’s effort behind.

Chloe Kelly and Aggie Beever-Jones came on in the 83rd minute and England were soon called into action to defend Andreia Jacinto’s effort.

A late surge saw Russo slice an effort wide in stoppage time and Williamson came close, but her header was easily saved by Pereira.

Elsewhere in the Nations League, Interim Scotland boss Michael McArdle began his tenure with a 1-0 defeat to Austria at the Josko Arena.

Lilli Purtscheller fired the home side ahead in the opening League A Group 1 fixture after 14 minutes and the home side deserved their interval lead, albeit the visitors passed up a couple of chances.

Austria, who also had a new head coach in the technical area in Alexander Schriebl, might have expected more of a fight from the visitors after the break but the home goal was rarely threatened.

Hayley Ladd's 100th appearance for Wales ended in a 1-0 defeat away to Italy in the Nations League.

Everton midfielder Ladd become only the 10th player - male or female - to bring up a century of caps for Wales in Monza, but was unable to help the visitors recover from a poor start.

Barbara Bonansea broke the deadlock with a fifth-minute goal for Italy and it proved enough to settle an even contest.

Northern Ireland suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Poland in their Nations League opener.

First-half goals by Ewelina Kamczyk and Adriana Achcinska left the visitors with an uphill battle in Gdansk.