France bounced back from their opening SheBelieves Cup defeat to England by snatching a 1-1 draw against the United States on Sunday.

Eugenie Le Sommer's 38th-minute goal levelled it for France after Mallory Pugh had given the reigning world champions the lead at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

The French were totally outplayed by England in Columbus last Thursday in their opener, crashing to an emphatic 4-1 defeat.

Yet against the United States on Sunday, Les Bleus put in a much-improved performance, responding superbly from falling behind in the 35th minute to Pugh's ninth international goal.

Megan Rapinoe, whose solitary strike set up a 1-0 win over Germany in their opening game, sent a free-kick into the area which caused mayhem in the French defence. The ball was ricocheting around before Pugh stabbed home via the hand of goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi.

A large home crowd in New Jersey expected the floodgates to open but France held their nerve and in the 38th minute, just moments after Valerie Gauvin hit the bar, Lyon forward Le Sommer broke clear of the defence and coolly rounded Alyssa Naeher.

France continued to impress in the second half and were unlucky not to grab a win when keeper Naeher brilliantly kept out a close range effort from Gauvin on 82 minutes.