England were held to a goalless draw by Slovenia in their opening match of the UEFA Women’s U17 Championship elite qualifying round.
John Griffiths’s side conjured decent efforts from Jess Park and Ebony Salmon, but they were unable to find a breakthrough in a cagey opening affair.
The Young Lionesses’ second match is against Switzerland on Wednesday.
The top-placed nation in the round-robin group will make it through to the finals, which will be staged in Lithuania, in May.
England: 13 Fran Stenson (Birmingham City), 3 Phoebe Williams (Southampton), 15 Lucy Roberts (Liverpool), 5 Naomi Hartley (capt; Liverpool), 12 Asmita Ale (Aston Villa), 14 Paris McKenzie (Birmingham City), 8. Ava Kuyken (Arsenal), 18 Jess Park (Manchester City), 17 Paige Bailey-Gayle (Arsenal), 9 Ebony Salmon (Aston Villa), 7 Simran Jhamat (Liverpool)
Substitutes: 11 Libby Smith (Chelsea) for Jhamat 60, 16 Missy Bo Kearns (Liverpool) for Kuyken 68, 10 Annabel Blanchard (Liverpool) for Park 79.
Head coach: John Griffiths
