England edged Portugal 1-0 at Shrewsbury Town FC with a Michelle Agyemang goal in front of a record crowd for the WU23s of 2,953.
Agyemang and Ruby Mace tested Portugal ‘keeper Adriana Rocha and just before half-time Missy Bo Kearns collected Teyah Goldie’s ball over the top but put the ball over the crossbar.
An Agyemang through ball had Mia Enderby threatening the goal but the opportunity went with the visitors scrambling the ball away.
Rocha pulled off a double save to deny Freya Godfrey a debut goal with her first touch, Agyemang’s follow-up also being kept out.
Kearns then played a pass in behind the defence for Godfrey on the left-hand side, only for her second effort to be blocked too.
Although Rocha also dealt with a Brooke Aspin header, it was her error in handling outside of the box that presented England with the opportunity of a winner and Agyemang stepped up to bury the free-kick into the bottom corner.
