England U21s boss pleased with aspects of performance but frustrated with defeat

Despite England Under-21s suffering their first defeat in 16 games, interim boss Aidy Boothroyd was keen to take the positives from their 3-2 loss in France.

It looked as though the Young Lions were set for a 2-2 draw when Lewis Baker equalised with a fine free-kick with ten minutes remaining, after a stunning opener from Duncan Watmore had put them ahead.

But a brace from Moussa Dembele and a late winner from Wylan Cyprien ensured the hosts were victorious in what was boss Pierre Mankowski’s final match in charge after their failure to qualify for the Euros.

“We’ve had two really good tests this week and I think this group will learn from this game,” said Boothroyd.

“Sometimes you can’t win every week and when you don’t win, you’ve got to make sure you don’t get beat.

“We had enough chances in the first half to put the game to bed, and we should’ve built on that but looking at the big picture, we’re going to the European Championships and we’ve got to learn lessons from this and the games we win.

“This team doesn’t lose very often so we’ve got to make sure we get back to that winning feeling when we get to March.

“But there’s been positives, with some really good group and individual performances I thought. We’ve played every player in the squad and we’ve had a really good look at it.”

The manner of the defeat in Bondoufle was particularly frustrating though, with Dembele’s second goal coming via a wonderful, but harshly awarded, free-kick.

And Cyprien scored from a similar range, just moments after Baker had more than matched Dembele’s effort.

“I think they were all excellent free-kicks, first and foremost, and we can’t win every game so we’ve got to take lessons from tonight and defeats like this,” he added.

“When you come away from home against not only a crowd and the opponent, but sometimes a referee can make mistakes and I thought he made a couple of mistakes tonight in terms of free-kicks.

“But having said that, we’ve got to defend them, respond properly and we didn’t do that so it’s a good lesson for us.

“The first free-kick was wonderful, but the second one we could’ve defended better.”

This match brought Boothroyd’s initial four-game stint to an end and regardless of how the situation unfolds in the future, the former Watford boss says he’s taken a lot from the experience.

“I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s a really good group of players and they’re willing to learn, they’ve worked their socks off and they want to get better and they play for each other,” he revealed.

“They want to be here and we have a lot of talent who work hard and we’ve just got to make sure we make the most of it, keep playing good opponents and get some good results.

“We’ve had some fantastic performances in Kazakhstan, against Bosnia and the last-minute win against Italy.

“What will be will be, I really enjoy what I’m doing and working with the U19s, U20s and now the U21s, so whatever The FA want me to do, I’m more than happy to.”