England suffered an agonising late defeat as France claimed a 2-1 win in the opening match of the four-team tournament in Philadelphia.

Jordan Nobbs gave the Lionesses a 1-0 lead which lasted until the 80th minute when Marie-Laure Delie headed in an equaliser. France also took the aerial route to score the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time through Wendie Renard.

The England manager, Mark Sampson, had told his side to prove they could be world-beaters before the “Battle of Britain” with Scotland at Euro 2017. They made a fine start, taking the lead when Jill Scott picked up a loose pass out of the France defence. Scott played it inside for Nobbs, who struck a vicious right-footed shot from 25 yards which deceived the France goalkeeper.

Delie was unable to control a bouncing ball as France missed the chance to equalise after 60 minutes. But Les Bleus levelled when Delie got between Steph Houghton and Millie Bright to head in a right-wing cross. Renard then got the final touch from a corner as the ball bounced over the England goalkeeper, Karen Bardsley.

England play the United States on Saturday and Germany on Tuesday. The matches are part of theLionesses’ buildup to this summer’s European Championship.