England U17s pair Ryan Ledson and Tom Brewitt were disappointed to lose against Belgium on Thursday – but say the competition for places inspires the squad to improve.
Everton midfielder Ledson and Liverpool defender Brewitt both featured in the double-header against the Belgians at St. George’s Park this week , with England winning 2-1 on Tuesday before suffering a defeat by the same scorline in the second game on Thursday.
And, speaking exclusively to TheFA.com, Ledson said that the squad know they must improve defensively: “I thought we started off well, passing the ball around and started quick.
Ryan Ledson in action against Belgium
“Unfortunately they went a goal up, but we came back into the game.
“The second half was a bit sloppy, we had a few knocks and made some changes, and they got a sloppy goal at the goal.”
Ledson is already targeting an improvement ahead of the Elite Round qualifiers in March, when the the squad travel to the Algarve Tournament in Portugal in February.
“It’s been disappointing to lose but it’s been a good week," he added.
“We need to be better defensively, not concede as many goals and hopefully we’ll win our games in the Algarve. “
This week has seen several new additions to the squad, and Brewitt believes that although there are lessons to be learned, the competition for places is spurring on each player to improve.
Liverpool and England U17 defender Tom Brewitt
Brewitt said: “For the squad it has been a big learning curve – we can’t start slow against strong opposition such as Belgium as you will get punished for it.
“Going forward into the Algarve Tournament and the Euros, I think we have learnt a lot.
“It’s good to know that the lads are pushing us for our places, it makes everyone play better.
“The new lads that have come in have all done well and it means the manager John Peacock has a lot of choices going forward.”
Watch the interview in full on the video player above.
