• Portugal 0-1 England• Goalkeeper error ends winless run for Phil Neville’s side
With Phil Neville feeling the heat, a scrappy Beth Mead goal salvaged a win for
England against a stubborn Portugal team to end a bruising five-game winless run. A disjointed and blunt performance from the visiting team saw them struggling to create in Setúbal but goalkeeper Patrícia Morais’s error allowed Mead to pounce and means the England manager gets the vital win that breaks the cycle.
Neville said before the game that England are going through a period of suffering but that this time will pay dividends when the major tournaments come. “We want to be testing our players,” he said. “Can they have the mental, physical and technical resilience to get through 90 minutes under pressure, in front of big crowds when you have not won for five games? It will pay dividends when we get to the Olympics and Euro 2021. That’s the period we’re going through.”