Germany women 0-0 England women

England followed up their World Cup victory over Germany with a hard-earned goalless draw with the European champions in Duisburg.

The Lionesses beat Silvia Neid's team to third place in Canada and they wasted chances to earn another win as Demi Stokes and Jill Scott went close.

But England's Karen Bardsley was the busier goalkeeper, with Germany's best chance falling to Dzsenifer Marozsan.

England host Bosnia-Herzegovina in their Euro 2017 qualifier on Sunday.

The match at Bristol City's Ashton Gate ground kicks off at 15:30 GMT and will be the team's first home appearance since the World Cup.

England's defence is unlikely to be tested in the same manner as it was against Germany, who also saw Babett Peter's effort whistle past the post.

It was a result achieved despite most of England's players finishing their domestic league campaign last month and the majority of Germany's squad still in the middle of their season.

Lionesses reverse fortunes inside a year

These two sides last met just over a year ago at Wembley when England limped away 3-0 losers with Germany dominating from start to finish.

It was a hard lesson for the Lionesses to learn as it marked their first match at the new Wembley and was watched by a record crowd of 45,619.

This draw in Germany was a different story, with England finally showing they can stand up to the best teams in the world.

Admittedly, their efforts on goal were limited and Germany looked the more likely to score but England kept their composure, worked hard to break up play in midfield and defended stoutly.

Beating Germany at the World Cup to claim the bronze medal - their first victory over them in 21 attempts - has given Sampson's side confidence and they no longer look intimidated when facing teams ranked above them.

This result cements their fifth place in Fifa's world rankings, three places behind Germany.

Does Sampson know his strongest side?

Demi Stokes usually plays left-back but played on the left of midfield for England

In almost two years in charge, Sampson has called up 49 different players, using 38 of them and handed debuts to players such as Danielle Carter and Isobel Christiansen.

He has also re-introduced players such as Katie Chapman and Lianne Sanderson after they fell out of favour under previous boss Hope Powell. And while it has been refreshing to see so many players given a chance under Sampson, he still seems some way off settling on his strongest side.

Once again he made wholesale changes for this game, with five players coming into the side.

Using left-back Demi Stokes in a wide attacking role was an unusual choice, particularly when he had several other forwards on the bench such as Jess Clarke and Gemma Davison, but it was a decision that appeared to pay off as the Manchester City defender looked lively from the start.

Starting Chelsea defender Gilly Flahetry in a centre-back partnership with captain Steph Houghton also shows that Sampson is yet to settle on his strongest back four. A clean sheet, however, shows that he got it right.

Player of the match: Jill Scott

Jill Scott worked hard to win the ball back throughout the match and played on despite picking up a wrist injury.

What's next?

England's match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday is being billed as a long-awaited 'homecoming' after claiming the bronze medal in Canada. It is their second qualifying game of the campaign, having won their first match 8-0 in Estonia.

England are favourites to top Group 7 and Bosnia-Herzegovina are 72nd in the world rankings.

Coverage of England's match with Bosnia-Herzegovina starts from 15:30 GMT on Sunday - live on BBC Two, text commentary on the BBC Sport website and radio commentary on 5 live sports extra.