England were edged 1-0 by Germany at the UEFA Women’s Under-17 Euros Championship at Inver Park in Larne.
Zoe Ciccardini brought down Clara Choisy in the penalty area in the 12th minute, and Johanna Hebben stepped up to fire the spot kick past Evie Mitchell.
Muriel Dürr met a corner coming in at the far post, but her effort bounced up onto the bar and over the top.
The ball fell kindly for Lucy Robinson in the Germany area, but she pulled her shot across the goal and wide.
Phoebe de Bohan took a shot from outside the box, but goalkeeper Mirja Kropp was equal to it, tipping it over the crossbar.
Mitchell turned away a stinging strike from Marie Kleemann to keep England in it going into the last quarter of an hour.
Bryony Brodie sent the ball through the keeper’s legs and into the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
The Young Lionesses wrap up their group games against Norway on Sunday, 10 May, aiming for a top-two finish and a place in the semi-finals.
Northern Ireland will play their final group game on Sunday against Germany after a 3-0 loss to Norway.
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