Alessia Russo’s early strike couldn’t set the European champions on their way to victory on Friday night, with questions to be asked of the coach.
When Alessia Russo broke the deadlock just 15 minutes into England’s opening game of the new Women’s Nations League campaign, it looked like the Lionesses might ease their way past a potentially tricky opponent. Unfortunately for Sarina Wiegman and her side, it would not turn out to be as straight-forward as that, with Portugal boss Francisco Neto getting his game plan spot on to allow Kika Nazareth to grab a well-earned point in a 1-1 draw with the European champions on Friday night.
England’s first half was really positive. Lucy Bronze’s fantastic cross was clinically converted by Russo to put them 1-0 up, with Lauren James and Grace Clinton in particular catching the eye in a sharp opening 45 minutes. However, though the former fired a few warning shots throughout the game, and Clinton had a huge claim for a penalty turned down just before half time, the Lionesses didn’t create too many clear cut chances to turn their dominance into a greater lead. That was one thing they were made to pay for in the end.
The other was on Wiegman’s end, with her not reacting to the game quickly enough with her substitutions. While Neto timed things perfectly, ensuring his team stayed in the match for the first hour before opting to change shape and introduce three positive subs, Kika among them, Wiegman waited until the 84th minute to bring on Chloe Kelly and Aggie Beever-Jones – almost 10 minutes after Portugal’s equaliser had flown into Mary Earps’ top corner.
The result of such hesitation was a disappointing point, though they could well have left the Algarve empty-handed, even, such was the momentum their hosts had after levelling the scores. Still, the Lionesses will have to improve before their second game of this new Nations League campaign, with world champions Spain coming to town on Wednesday.
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