England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd believes his side can take valuable lessons from Friday’s defeat to Germany.
The Young Lions slipped to a 1-0 reverse in Wiesbaden, after a first-half goal from Nadiem Amiri proved enough to separate the sides.
And whilst Boothroyd was happy to admit the hosts deserved their victory following a dominant first-half display, he was also pleased with the way his team responded after the break.
“They’re a good side, obviously, and they changed their shape which threw us a little bit and we had a few problems dealing with it in the first half,” he said.
“And towards the end of the first half and in the second half, when we tactically changed, we gave them more problems than they gave us.
“But we adapted and that’s what you’ve got to be able to do, deal with what’s thrown at you.
“At this level, you’ve got to make sure you’re at it and if they change shape, you adapt.
“I think on another day, we might have nicked an equaliser so we’re disappointed, but in the end it was a fair result and as it’s March and not June, then we’ll just take it and learn from it.”
With a number of new faces in his squad and also without the likes of regular captain James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond, Boothroyd had said previously that this game and Monday’s match in Denmark were always about looking at his options for this summer's Euro Finals.
And he gave Jacob Murphy an U21 debut and the in-form Norwich City forward went on to cause a number of problems for Stefan Kuntz’s side.
“We gave a few players a chance and I was really pleased with Jacob Murphy, who was very good,” he added.
“We said at the start of the week that to prepare properly for June, I’d need to look at a few players and get to see how people perform in an environment like this.
“It’s a game of chess at this level and tactically, you’ve got to make sure you can cope with what’s thrown at you and you’ve got to throw a few googlies at them.
“We’ll take on board what we learned from Germany and now it’s about preparing quickly for Denmark.”
The Young Lions squad will now head north to Randers, where they will face another fellow Euro Finalist in Denmark on Monday evening. That game kicks-off at 6pm GMT and will be shown live on BT Sport.
