Aidy Boothroyd says his England U20s side have "work to do" after they opened their Toulon Tournament campaign with a tempestuous 3-3 with Morocco.
The Young Lions took an early lead through Demarai Gray, but twice fell behind either side of Duncan Watmore's first England goal before relying on substitute Chuba Akpom to bail them out with two minutes remaining.
England U20s 3-3 Morocco
Toulon Tournament
Stade Leo Legrange
Thursday 28 May, 2015
And while Boothroyd admitted the match was quite a spectacle, with England going down to 10 men following the dismissal of Dominic Iorfa, he says England cannot afford to be as open when they face Ivory Coast on Saturday afternoon.
"I didn't expect a spectacular game like that. What a great game for the neutral – and we are an entertaining side that’s for sure," he said.
"I was pleased with the end, although moving on I will be thinking we have a lot of work to do to improve.
"Once we scored, we relaxed mentally and you can't do that against any team, especially against a good team like Morocco, who have proved that they can turn over some good sides."
Chuba Akpom celebrates his equaliser against Morocco
"We can’t complain about the sending off, it’s a learning curve which this tournament is all about and we move on to the next game against Ivory Coast and that will present the team with new challenges."
Boothroyd can at least take satisfaction from England retaining their unbeaten record during his first campaign in charge – and the character they have shown along the way.
"The first 40 minutes was probably our worst performance of the season," he said. "For the side to come back with 10 men to draw 3-3 shows a credit to the mentality of the whole group, we’ve got a great team of staff and players here and everyone is in it together.
"Playing in different conditions against different nations in this tournament is vital experience at this age.
Sunderland winger Duncan Watmore impressed on debut for England U20s
"That is what these games are for – to give this group of lads the experience for when they play in senior tournaments at senior level."
One player who rose to the challenge was debutant Duncan Watmore, and Boothroyd was happy to give special praise to the Sunderland winger.
"Duncan Watmore put in an outstanding performance, scored a goal and made one," said Boothroyd.
"He’s settled into the group really well and he’s a lovely lad. He did really well tonight considering it was his debut for England."
England are back in action on Saturday at 2pm when they face Ivory Coast, who drew their opening game against Mexico 1-1.
The Young Lions’ other opponents in Group B are China, with the winner of the round-robin league going straight into the final on Sunday week.
England U20s v Ivory Coast will be shown live on BT Sport 2
