Sven Goran Eriksson and goalscorer Francis Jeffers both vowed

England Reaction: Sven Goran Eriksson and goalscorer Francis Jeffers both vowed that England won't repeat the mistakes made in Wednesday's 3-1 home defeat against Australia when we face Liechenstein and Turkey in Euro 2004 qualifiers.

Two bright points from a 3-1 defeat against Australia that made fans come away feeling generally disappointed. Firstly, there weren't any European Championship points at stake. And secondly, there was plenty to enjoy from individuals like Wayne Rooney, Jermaine Jenas, Kieron Dyer and Francis Jeffers - who marked his first appearance with a goal.

"It was a great experience for us younger lads in the second half," said Jeffers. "We all have to learn about international football. Nobody likes to lose 3-1 of course but I'm sure if it had been a qualifying game, the result would have been different."

Sven also thought the game was a worthwhile exercise with young blood coming through.

"I'm not too concerned right now. As a result it looks very bad but I don't think we played that badly," he said.

"We lost a little bit of concentration for the first goal and did not have the right position for the second goal, but if it had been a qualifier we would not have made those mistakes."

Sven was particularly impressed with his under-26 team that played the second half, most notably Wayne Rooney who became the youngest England international ever at 17years, 111 days and Newcastle's Jenas, who set up the goal for Jeffers.

"The boys did very well in the second half and you could see that there were a lot of talented players out there," he said.

"I told them 'you have to go out and sort it out' and they almost did it. Some of the youngsters are almost ready for bigger tasks.

"The youngest (Wayne Rooney) did very well, he's a very good football player - every time he got the ball you think something can happen - and Jenas had a very good game. For a team under 26 they did very well and they dominated in the second half, which is very good."

The Upton Park crowd let their frustration be known, unfairly in the view of England skipper David Beckham.

"We all get frustrated at results - it's the same for the players - but they're young lads who deserved a little bit more than that I think. It hurts losing to anyone - especially at home. It hurt drawing with Macedonia so losing tonight - a lot will be made of it.

"The fans have got to get behind us now in our next games and I'm sure they will. We have to move on. It was just a friendly. I felt it wasn't as bad as the result looked."

Jenas was probably the pick of England's second-half players. "I was nervous, but I went out there to enjoy it. It was disappointing to lose to Australia, but I'm sure we'll put it right next time."

By Joe Bernstein