England Under-21s kept alive their hopes of qualifying for next summer's European Championships with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portugal in Barcelos on Friday night.

Defeat by the Group 9 leaders Greece in their previous match in March had left Stuart Pearce's side five points adrift but they closed the gap thanks to Daniel Sturridge's 35th-minute goal.

Victory for England in their final qualifying match against Lithuania on Tuesday should be enough to send them through to the play-offs before the finals in Denmark.

Pearce chose not to start with the Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, who made his senior England debut last month, while Manchester United's £7m signing Bebe won his first Under-21 cap for Portugal.

David Simao had the first shot on goal after eight minutes but his long-range effort flew well over the bar.

England's striker Danny Welbeck then produced a clever flick to break into the box but Daniel Carrico cleared the danger.

The cagey opening to a game both sides needed to win was summed up after 24 minutes when the England goalkeeper, Frank Fielding, was booked for time-wasting.

The visitors should have opened the scoring when Welbeck tapped in Kyle Walker's cross but the flag was incorrectly raised for offside.

However, England had to wait only seven minutes to put that behind them as Tom Cleverley played in Sturridge and the Chelsea man chipped the Portugal goalkeeper, Rui Patricio.

The same pair then combined again but this time Cleverley shot high and wide as England had to settle for a one-goal lead at half-time.

England continued to press after the break and Tottenham's Danny Rose had a close-range effort well blocked by Carrico.

Bebe had been largely disappointing but he tested Fielding for the first time with a shot in the 65th minute that the Blackburn keeper beat away.

The home side cranked up the pressure and Fielding was called on again to save from Andre Pinto.

There was still time for Welbeck and the substitute Nathan Delfouneso to miss presentable chances but the win was all that mattered for Pearce and England.