England went down 4-0 to Germany in their first match of the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship in Bulgaria.
Germany, who beat England 8-0 in the 2018 semis, took the lead with a Emilie Bernhardt penalty, Nicole Woldmann and Sophie Weidauer adding one each by the interval. Lisanne Gräwe made it 4-0 in added time.
Gemma Grainger’s side play next on Wednesday afternoon against Austria, who were defeated 4-1 by the Netherlands in the opening match.
Despite going behind to an early penalty by Annabel Schashing, the Dutch replied through Iris Stiekema and a Nikita Tromp brace by the break, before the latter completed her hat-trick in second-half stoppage time.
In Group A, Portugal scored twice against the hosts inside 30 minutes, Maria Alagoa’s effort added to by a Vivianne Bessette own-goal. Zdravka Parapunova replied in first-half added time but that was the end of the scoring.
Holders Spain were held 0-0 by Denmark, with a Salma Paralluelo effort turned onto the bar by Danish goalkeeper Freja Rosenkrans Thisgaard.
