The men were beaten 3-1 by Israel at the English Institute of Sport while the women were unlucky to be defeated 3-2 by Portugal.

 

Both teams traded points in a memorable contest but it was the Portuguese side who took control when it mattered most - in the final set - to start their campaign with a victory.

 

British coach Lorne Sawula said: “This was our first experience of playing a competitive match in front of a crowd and with all the pressure involved since we played Albania in the European Championships last May.

 

"We need more experience of such matches but my players have been working their tails off to prepare for this sort of challenges.”

 

For the men, Britain’s captain Ben Pipes admitted the home side did not play to expectations.

 

He said: "For us, it was not our finest performance.

 

"It wasn’t a great show of spirit, it was really disappointing that was lacking.

 

"It was really frustrating for everyone that we did not build on the second set and the light faded from there.

 

"We can’t afford to do that - we have to be a team that fights for every point whether we’re 24-1 down or at 24-24.”

 

Harry Brooking, Britain's head coach, said: “We had the worst start - that kind of start you can only imagine in your worst nightmares.

 

"We had two or three players who weren’t confident in their own play, never mind the team.

 

"You can change the players and rotate the team and when we won the second set, I hoped they’d play at their own level.

 

"But we had the same problems at the start of the third set and it was disastrous for one or two players in my team.”

 

Britain's men next take on Belarus and the women Montenegro.