England Under-21s boss Gareth Southgate has claimed that his side will learn a valuable lesson from their 3-2 defeat to France in their friendly clash.
The Young Lions were fired into a 2-0 lead as Harry Kane notched a brace inside 22 minutes, but Yaya Sanogo hit back with two strikes of his own to level the scores at the break.
France upped the ante in the second half and their pressure on the England goal finally told when Kingsley Coman found the net in the 73rd minute to fire his side to victory.
Southgate told the FA's official website: "We knew they were a powerful and athletic team and a different test to what we've faced before, which is why we came.
"I thought we were fortunate to be 2-0 ahead and in the end, we haven't really done enough to win the game. That said, it was exactly the sort of test that we wanted and had we hung on for 2-2 away in France then that would have been an outstanding result.
"We haven't managed to do that, and there's a lot of disappointment in the dressing room but I don't think that will do us any harm in the long run."
The defeat to France ended England's run of 11 straight victories, and was Southgate's first loss as boss of the Young Lions.
Simon Sinclair
