Portugal edge out England

Portugal's Under-21 side beat England 1-0 in the Britannia stadium, Stoke on Tuesday night.

Brown blow
Both sides will be lining up at this summer's UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals so the game was a useful dress rehearsal. However England were dealt a blow before the match with the withdrawal of Manchester United FC defender Wes Brown who was hit in the eye by a ball in training earlier in the day leaving him with blurred vision.

Zamora on bench
England coach David Platt decided to leave Bobby Zamora, the free-scoring 21-year-old striker of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, on the bench.

Tonel goal
England looked jaded in the first half and it was no surprise when Portugal took the lead six minutes before the interval. Portuguese defender Tonel stole in unmarked at the far post and headed past England goalkeeper Paul Robinson from an accurate Candido Costa free-kick.

Teixeira chance
England made seven second-half substitutions, including handing a debut to Zamora, while Teixeira missed a golden opportunity to extend the visitors' lead. Substitutes Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe both went close late on but it was too little too late for the hosts as they fell to their first defeat under Platt's control.

Return match
Nevertheless, England will have a chance to exact revenge when the two sides meet again in this summer's finals in Switzerland in their final Group A game in Zürich.