England lose Women's Under-17 opener

The Young Lionesses and their Italian counterparts kicked off Group A with a cagey affair that appeared destined to finish goalless until the 79th minute.

That's when midfielder Federica Cavicchia took her time to meet a ball outside of the box and guide a lob over goalkeeper Kirstie Levell and into the net.

England camped in the opposition half in search of an equaliser and nearly forced a draw through Sophie Stamp two minutes later.

Stamp's rising shot forced Italy goalkeeper Francesca Durante into action, with a strong hand pushing the ball over the crossbar.

Then captain Leah Williamson came agonisingly close to a leveller in stoppage time, meeting Stamp's corner from the left with a header that dropped a fraction wide of the post.

What was, for the most part, a stalemate didn't appear to be on the cards after a frantic opening couple of minutes, where both sides could have taken the lead.

In the first minute, Ashley Plumptre rose to meet Evie Clarke's cross into the box but couldn't direct her effort on target, nodding over the bar.

Italy raced straight up the other end a minute later and should have opened the scoring through Flaminia Simonetti, who could only turn Valentina Bergamaschi's pull back wide of the post.

England striker Chloe Kelly tried her luck outside of the area on 21 minutes, but her effort was straight at Durante who made the catch.

Italy started to threaten frequently after the break and a sign of things to come saw substitute Gloria Marinelli head over Martina Piemonte's cross.

A minute later, a warning that was not heeded saw Cavicchia put a shot over the first time, while Mollie Rouse ran onto a loose ball in the box only to fire low past the post on 76 minutes.

Then came the goal, a frantic fightback that ultimately proved unsuccessful for England. They now face Austria at Chesterfield's Proact Stadium on Friday night.