By Gordon Farquhar BBC sportsnews correspondent in Faro

Report: Portugal 1-1 England

A satisfactory performance by the players was mirrored by England's fans in the first dress rehearsal for Euro 2004 on Wednesday.

While the team played out a 1-1 draw with Portugal, plenty of people were focusing on the policing of the away supporters.

But there was no hint of trouble during the build-up to the match, or in the stadium itself, and the police can have no complaints.

This was a full-scale rehearsal for the summer, with a considerable number of travelling England fans coming through the airport on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The police adopted the well-publicised policy that they will use in June of being non-confrontational, and they were distinctly low profile in Faro.

And if there were English spotters keeping an eye out for trouble, they were doing so discreetly.

The Home Office was presumably relieved to announce before kick-off that there had been no arrests in Portugal.

Everyone was in good spirits throughout Wednesday afternoon and the promised security checks before entering the ground were delivered particularly well.

Supporters first passed through a holding area before the formal ticket check and then a search.

Local police had no more than a watching brief at the stadium

The Portugese authorities followed their guidelines to the letter.

There were 2,500 fans in the England end, with a considerable number of ex-pats spread around the stadium, and not a hint of trouble.

Of course, without the tension that will surround the competitive matches, as well as the far higher number of travelling fans, it's impossible to draw any strong conclusions as to the likelihood of a peaceful summer.

No-one can ever tell how it's going to be in the heat of a major tournament.

However, the dry run could not have gone any better and everyone involved will be more than satisfied.