Spanish lesson for England

England were put to the sword by the latest wonderkid to come out of Barcelona - Bojan Krkic.

The starlet has been tipped for big things in Spain and he unleashed his considerable talents on the young Lions, scoring twice in a 3-2 win.

England Head Coach John Peacock was impressed with the victors, particularly young Krkic.

"He's a very good player," said Peacock. "He was a real test for us. He plays on the shoulder of the defence, is very intelligent and clinical in front of goal. He is a top talent.

"They are a top nation, but it's disappointing to lose. We did not defend well in the first half. We probably gave them too much respect and allowed their quality players too much time on the ball."

England suffered a setback before a ball was kicked in anger when Chelsea's Michael Woods was forced to withdraw from the starting line-up with a stomach bug and replaced by Arsenal's Jay Thomas who made his debut.

On a windy evening, it was Spain who mastered with the conditions and took the lead in the 22nd minute.

The highly rated Krkic, who has been wowing Barcelona followers despite his tender years, weaved through the English defence before shooting past Manchester United keeper Ben Amos.

Spain doubled their lead just two minutes later when Arsenal's Francisco Merida found the back of the net.

England rallied and halved the deficit on 38 minutes when Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi netted. Showing composure often lacking throughout the England side, the Chelsea man collected possession in his own half, beat a couple of challenges before spectacularly striking home from the edge of the area.

The young Lions improved after the break but conceded a killer goal on 48 minutes when Krkic notched his second of the evening.

England responded late in the game when substitute Henri Lansbury, who is coming back from an injury, set up a frantic finale with a 20 yard drive in the 80th minute.

But it was too little, too late.

"We did not deserve to win the game," added Peacock. "But the players will have learnt a lot from this evening.

"It was good that we gave debuts to two players - Jay Thomas and Nathan Eccleston. It was a difficult test for them coming up against Spain for their first game, but they have shown what they can do."

England will be back in action on Friday when they take on Portugal.