Michael Woods scored twice on a dream debut for England U17s - but it was not enough as John Peacock's men were held to a 2-2 draw by Turkey on Wednesday night.
The Chelsea midfielder netted either side of half-time to put England deservedly ahead after 50 minutes.
But, despite the heroics of England keeper Alex Smithies who made a string of fine saves including a penalty, the hosts had to settle for a point after Turkey scored twice in the final 12 minutes.
Turkey had the first chance when the impressive Sercan Yildirim twisted and turned into the box, past two defenders, but blazed his shot over the bar and into the Brook Road Stand.
Tunay Torun showed equally good feet to work himself an opening seconds later but, in stark contrast to Yildirim, his low shot was easily gathered by Smithies.
But it was England who took the lead in the sixth minute with something a little bit special. There seemed little on when Woods picked the ball up 35 yards from goal, but the Chelsea midfielder jinked past three challenges and into the box before thumping an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner.
Frank Arnesen, Chelsea's Head of Development and Scouting, would have been impressed as he watched from the stands.
Both sides looked dangerous on the break, particularly Turkey, but it was England who threatened next, Danny Rose drilling a shot from the edge of the box straight at Ersel Cetinkaya.
England continued to create chances, with Woods and Danny Rose threading telling passes from the centre of midfield, although it was confusion between the Turkey goalkeeper and defence which nearly let in Victor Moses in the 25th minute.
However, Cetinkaya opted for a safety first approach, hoofing the ball straight into the face of the England striker who collapsed on the lush playing surface.
There were a few anxious glances from the England bench, but after some treatment Moses returned to the fray.
Moses' strike partner Ashley Chambers could have put England further ahead moments later when he latched on to a long pass. But, with just the keeper to beat, the striker, who made his senior debut for Leicester at just 15, dragged his shot wide.
Turkey, who relied on the twinkle-toed pairing of Yildirim and Torun for their rare moments of success, almost equalised in the 37th minute.
Yildirim, whose close control was a delight, danced into the penalty area before laying the ball off to Torun whose goalbound shot was cleared.
Smithies, who had enjoyed a relatively untroubled first half, showed wonderful athleticism to parry away Ugar Demirkol's header on the stroke of half-time.
The England stopper was busy after the break, palming wide Gokhan Ozturk's drive as Turkey started the second half well.
Smithies made an even better save in the 48th minute. Torun left the England defence trailing in his wake before powering a shot which seemed destined for the top corner. The England keeper had other ideas, flinging himself full-stretch to his right to claw the ball wide.
Despite Turkey enjoying their best period of pressure, England delivered a sucker-punch in the 50th minute when Jordan Spence headed Jonathan Franks' free-kick across goal to Woods to poked home from close range.
Franks almost made it three a minute later when Woods sent him clear but Cetinkaya made an excellent block.
England were dominating, but Turkey pulled a goal back with 12 minutes remaining when Umut Sozen slotted home from close range after the home side failed to clear their lines.
The Turks were handed a golden opportunity to pull level three minutes later when Liam Darville fouled Yildirim in the box. The Turkey forward dusted himself off and took the penalty but Smithies was equal to the effort, diving low to his left to make a splendid save.
But Smithies was not finished there, pulling off another fine save seconds later when Batuhan Karadeniz headed goalwards.
However, with the vocal crowd urging the referee to give a final toot on his whistle, Torun slotted home a scrappy goal to grab a share of the spoils.
England: Smithies (Huddersfield), Darville (Leeds) (Ofori-Twumasi 73, (Chelsea), Reid (Nottingham Forest), Clancy (Aston Villa), Franks (Middlesbrough), Rose (Leeds) (Harvey 50, West Ham), Chambers (Leicester), Moses (Crystal Palace) (Murphy 58, Arsenal), Woods (Chelsea), Spence (West Ham), Barnett (Arsenal).
Subs not used: Steele (Middlesbrough), Lansbury (Arsenal), Mattock (Leicester), Plummer (Bristol City).
Goals: Woods 6, 50
Turkey: Cetinkaya, Kaya, Demirkol, Akga, Taktak, Yilmaz, Ozcal, Ozturk (Karadeniz 61), Yildirim, Sozen, Torun.
Subs not used: Kose, Yollu, Ozkan, Aygunes, Erciyes, Albayrak.
Goals: Sozen 68, Torun 80
Referee: P Armstrong.
Assistant referees: J Flynn and S Tincknell.
Fourth official: S Tomlinson