'We were figuring it out' - Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman explains how Portugal changes led to England dropping points in Nations League opener

England led after just 15 minutes in their Nations League opener thanks to a great cross from Lucy Bronze which was converted well by Alessia Russo. The Lionesses dominated the first half in the Algarve and were in a good position to start the new campaign with a win, but couldn't extend their lead and were eventually made to pay for that.

Portugal were much better in the second period and, with 15 minutes to play, Kika Nazareth, the Barcelona talent who was introduced on the hour, scored a well-deserved equaliser. The hosts could've even got more from the game, such was their momentum, but the score was 1-1 when the full-time whistle went.

Asked about England's more disappointing second half performance, Wiegman told ITV: "They brought a lot more players up front, they changed their shape and we were figuring it out. At the end, we did figure it out and the first moment they came through, they scored that goal really well, but on the other hand we could've done better there. We know that. Then we [improved] the organisation and we pushed a little more too. Unfortunately, we couldn't get another goal.

"Of course, I'd hoped to have come away with more. I think we played a very good first half. I think we could've got some more goals, that would've helped. The second half, they changed their shape. We had to adapt to that. Then when they started to push, we hoped to keep the ball better. We want to do that better next time."

Elsewhere on Friday night, Spain came back from behind to beat Belgium 3-2 in the other game in England's Nations League group. The world champions were 2-0 down with less than 15 minutes to go but eventually fought back, with Lucia Garcia scoring a 92nd minute equaliser and Cristina Martin-Prieto bagging the winner in the 96th minute.

Spain will be the Lionesses' next opponent, at Wembley on Wednesday night. It will be a rematch of the 2023 Women's World Cup final, which La Roja won 1-0, and England will need to be much better than they were on Friday if they are to get a positive result.