Albion's opening fixture in the Premier League International Cup ended in a 3-0 defeat to Danish side FC Nordsjælland at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night.
The visitors took control of the contest in the early stages, with Hjalte Boe Rasmussen and Daniel Ingi Johannesson both on target within the first 21 minutes.
The Baggies delivered a much-improved showing in the second period but conceded a third late on when skipper Justin Janssen converted a penalty in front of the Smethwick End.
The Danes settled immediately in the West Midlands and could have opened the scoring twice inside the first six minutes. Brian Okonkwo tipped a Malte Heyde effort from 20 yards over the top and Ingi Johannesson curled a right-footed attempt wide after finding himself in plenty of space in the area.
But the away outfit did go ahead 13 minutes into the tie. Forward Levey Nene saw a shot bounce back off the post, but unfortunately for Leigh Downing's group, Boe Rasmussen was on hand to slam the ball into the net from the edge of the box.
Nene rounded Okonkwo moments later, only to find the angle too tight to squeeze home from. But a second soon followed. The ball fell loose on the edge of the six-yard box following a cross from the right and Ingi Johannesson pounced to side-foot into the bottom corner.
The Baggies goalkeeper had to be alert to prevent further damage - holding on to a Nene header and palming away Boe Rasmussen's 20-yard drive. At the other end, forward Jack Bray tried his luck from outside the area, but William Lykke made a smart save away to his right.
The hosts switched from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 at the start of the second period and one of the half-time subs may well have had two goals in four minutes.
Torin Ntege was introduced to the action and drilled the ball into the base of the post from distance almost instantly, before unleashing another powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area which fizzed just over the bar shortly after.
Okonkwo was called upon on the hour, stretching to tip Villun Dalsgaard's curling attempt beyond the post and out for a corner, which eventually came to nothing.
Souleyman Mandey and Ntege saw near-identical attempts parried by Lykke, while Boe Rasmussen could only hit the side-netting at the opposite end of the pitch having wriggled free inside the area.
The final goal arrived in the 89th minute. A push in the box led to the referee awarding FC Nordsjælland a penalty, with Janssen burying the ball into the bottom corner.
The club's youngsters host Italian giants Juventus in their next match in the tournament on Wednesday, October 8.
ALBION: Okonkwo, Nelson, Mohammed, Diomande, Parker (Humphries HT), Deeming (Iddrisa 61'), Crowther (Blackshields 83'), Maughan, Mandey, McDonald (Ntege HT), Bray (Francis-Caesar 61').
Subs: Brady (GK), Letlat.
