England held to draw with Portugal in WWC send-off clash

England were left to rue missed chances as they were heled to a 0-0 draw with Portugal in a warm-up match ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup.

The draw marks the second successive match in which England have failed to score -- after their 2-0 defeat to Australia in April -- taking the Lionesses' minutes without a goal to 247, since Ella Toone's strike against Brazil.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Playing just three weeks before they play their opener at this summer's tournament -- against Haiti on July 22 -- England looked to dominate possession against Portugal, a side 17 places below them in the FIFA world rankings.

Sarina Wiegman's side started well, with Rachel Daly drawing a save from Ine Pereira in the fourth minute, and England spurned more chances in the first half -- ending with Georgia Stanway hitting the bar.

The Lionesses made three changes at half-time, injecting life into the side and helping to create more chances, but without breaking the deadlock.

The best chance of the game came just before the hour mark when substitute Alessia Russo ran in behind the defence before seeing her effort cleared off the line by opposing defender Ana Borges. The chances continued to come for Russo, with another effort firing wide soon after.

England will play a behind closed doors friendly against Canada in Australia on July 14 before kicking off their World Cup campaign in Brisbane against Group D opponents Haiti.