LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal to send the Netherlands on their way to a 3-0 win over Wales in their Group D opener at the Women's European Championship at the Allmend Stadion in Lucerne on Saturday.

Wales came into their debut match at a major tournament as underdogs against the 2017 champions and, after frustrating the Dutch for long periods of the opening half, Miedema's milestone strike before the break ended the Welsh resistance.

"It's special. When you're a child, you don't even dream of this, or maybe you do dream, but achieving it is special," Miedema told NOS Sport.

"We had some difficulties in building the plays, but it was good for me to score my goal right away."

The Welsh were pinned back in their own half for long stretches, often making things difficult for themselves with some wayward passing but also regularly putting their bodies on the line in the box to block the constant Dutch danger.

Jill Roord hit two powerful efforts in the first half, one saved by Wales keeper Olivia Clark, the other thundering back off the upright, while the Welsh intent was underlined by Lily Woodham picking up a booking inside 25 minutes for time-wasting.

Wales looked like hanging on until the interval but, deep into added time, Miedema struck a curling shot from outside the area which sailed into the far top corner, a goal worthy of the captain's milestone in her 126th international appearance.

The Dutch doubled their lead less than three minutes after the break, with Danielle van de Donk laying a pass back to Victoria Pelova in the box who blasted a shot through the legs of defender Gemma Evans and beyond the keeper.

"To concede just before halftime and then so quickly after halftime, probably lapses of concentration and at this level, you switch off and you get punished," Wales midfielder Jessica Fishlock told the BBC.

Roord again hit the woodwork, as the Netherlands almost added a third immediately, and they did find the net again in the 57th minute.

Jackie Groenen's shot rattled the crossbar and, from the rebound, Pelova floated a ball to the back post which was finished off by Esmee Brugts. The Dutch threatened to run riot but despite plenty of chances were unable to add to their tally.

The more than 4,000 Welsh fans inside the ground belted out their anthem as the game drew to a close, and Wales will have more battles ahead in arguably the toughest group in the competition, where holders England face France later on Saturday.

"We'll be disappointed with the result but we left everything on the field and we knew it was going to be a tough group," Wales captain Angharad James told the BBC.

"Every game is a tough game. We gave it our all. It wasn't quite good enough, we know that and we'll learn from that."

(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; editing by Clare Fallon)