Millie Bright’s brilliant volley was cancelled out by a stunning strike from Janine Beckie as England Women played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Canada Women in their opening match of the Arnold Clark Cup.
England were dominant in the first half at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium and deservedly took the lead in the 22nd minute when Chelsea defender Bright fired in from inside the box after Fran Kirby passed a short corner to Alex Greenwood.
However, Olympic champions Canada started the second period the better of the two sides and equalised when Manchester City forward Beckie struck a goal-of-the-season contender from the edge of the box .
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Both teams pushed for a winner late on but the match ended level, just as Germany’s earlier clash with Spain had done.
The result means Sarina Wiegman’s winning start to life as England Women head coach came to an end after six games, although the Canadians represented a significant step up in class from her side’s last fixture in November a 20-0 win over Latvia in World Cup qualifying.
England face Spain at Carrow Road on Sunday while Canada take on Germany at the same venue.
