Sarina Wiegman ‘disappointed’ as England struggle in goalless draw with Portugal ahead of World Cup

England were held in a 0-0 stalemate by Portugal on Saturday afternoon as they prepared for the Women’s World Cup.

The Lionesses were taking part in a friendly in their last match before they head out to Australia for the tournament.

Sarina Wiegman’s team played below their usual high standards as they struggled to take on their opponents.

The team are now two games without a win after their 30-game unbeaten streak ended earlier in the year when they lost to Australia in April.

Their next match will be a friendly against Canada in Australia, on July 14.

With the World Cup in mind, England’s manager fielded 17 players and a number of formations at Stadium MK as she used the opportunity to experiment, with the side’s fluency suffering as a result.

Most of the squad had not played since the end of the Women’s Super League, and with Portugal staying compact and defending deep, they kept the European champions at bay.

Rachel Daly, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly and Lucy Bronze – who hit the woodwork – all had chances to score but were unable to convert.

Speaking to ITV after the game, Alessia Russo said: “It was frustrating but there are lots to build on. It is our first game back together, we will definitely have to build on that. Today we had a lot of chances we should have finished but we are finding new connections. come the World Cup we will be ready and firing.

“It’s competitive for the No. 9, Rachel and Beth (England) have had unbelievable seasons. We get to train together every day, it’s nice to learn from them.”

Wiegman added: “We are disappointed we didn’t score a goal. I think we did a little better in the second half, we played higher and quicker on the pitch. We did have lots of chances. I think we forced them deeper, I think we need to do a little better.

“We could have been up 3-0, they didn’t have a lot of chances. Players need to adapt to each other again. I think (Jess) Carter and (Esme) Morgan worked well. I think they were both very calm, they did well in possession too.”