England Women U-19s were beaten 3-0 by the USA in their opening fixture at the La Manga tournament.
Emma Coates’ side were undone by goals from Aislynn Crowder and Reilyn Turner in the first half before Isabella Cook sealed victory for the Americans five minutes from full time.
Ebony Salmon was rewarded for her fine club form this season for Bristol City with a starting berth, as was Arsenal’s Mel Filis, however neither of them were able to get on the scoresheet out in Spain.
England face two further tests out in La Manga against Sweden (6 March) and Denmark (8 March).
“La Manga is a fantastic tournament that we participate in every year as it gives the squad experience against tough opposition in a different environment to what they are used to,” Coates told TheFA.com.
“We are hoping to build momentum ahead of the UEFA Elite round fixtures in April and hopefully qualifying for the finals in Georgia.
“It is an exciting time for the players.”
England: 1 Frances Stenson (Arsenal, loan to Blackburn), 4 Missy Bo Kearns (Liverpool, loan to Blackburn), 5 Naomi Hartley (Sheffield United), 6 Kiera Skeels (Reading), 8 Molly Pike (Everton), 9 Annabel Blanchard (Leicester City), 10 Jessica Park (Manchester City), 11 Ebony Salmon (Bristol City, 12 Jodie Hutton (Aston Villa), 17 Libby Smith (Leicester City), 21 Melis Filis (Arsenal)
Substitutes: 16 Emma Bissell (Manchester City) for Blanchard 60, 3 Beth Roberts (Stoke City) for Hutton 76, 14 Aimee Everett (Leicester City) for Kearns 76, 19 Holly Manders (Durham) for Smith 80
Substitutes not used: 13 Emily Orman (Chelsea), 15 Ava Kuyken (University of Florida State), 20 Abbie Roberts (Rutgers University), 22 Simran Jhamat (Leicester City), 23 Maya Le Tissier (Brighton & Hove Albion) 24 Ruby Grant (Arsenal)
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