Germany 3- 2 England 

Under-19 Friendly International
Spiesen Elversberg, Nr Saarbruken

Young England duo David Bentley and Tommy Wright showed that they are bang in form for next month's European Qualifiers by combining for both of England's goals as Stuart Baxter's men went down to a brave 3-2 defeat in Germany on Thursday night.

On a tricky pitch and against a vastly more experienced German side, the young lions initially struggled to get into the game, falling behind to Mario Gomez's eleventh minute strike. Baxter's boys reacted excellently though, pushing their hosts back into their own penalty area before scoring a deserved equaliser that came our way on 40 minutes.

David Bentley's exquisite back-heel caught out the entire German defence, leaving Tommy Wright in one on one with their 'keeper. The Leicester striker is on top of his game at the moment and looked full of confidence as he took his time before slamming the ball past the young Bayern Munich stopper, Michael Rensing.

With the momentum still with them from the conclusion to the first half, it was England who started the second period the stronger, only to once again fall behind on 53 minutes. Alexander Ludwig's goal may have come against the run of play but its excellence made everybody in the ground sit up and take notice. His curled strike gave Jamie Young in the England goal no chance whatsoever. Once again though England displayed tremendous mental resolve to force their way back into contention following the disappointment of falling behind for a second time.

Once more it was Arsenal play-maker David Bentley who provided the imagination and incisiveness to open Germany up for our second equaliser. The young Gunner slipped Tommy Wright in beautifully and the young striker nipped in ahead of defender and goalkeeper for his second on 62 minutes.

It looked all set for a winning finale for England and we even had a shot cleared off the line. Then Eintracht Frankfurt's Daniyel Cimen struck a cruel blow for the hosts, registering their third and final goal on 79 minutes.

"It was a real shame not to get the draw that our performance deserved," coach Stuart Baxter told us after the game. "Considering some of the difficulties that we had in getting this squad together and the tricky nature of this pitch, the boys can be proud of the effort they put in.

"This was an important experience for these players and the fact that everybody got a taste of the action will prove beneficial as we progress together. I now have some positive selection challenges to make ahead of the Euro Qualifiers."

England:  Pidgeley (Young 45), Hoyte, Mckie, Schumacher (Hand 45), Leacock (Forrest 76), Hogg, Samba (Taylor 45), Bowditch (Reo-Coker 57), Wright, Bentley (Moogan 68), McNamee (Sam 84)

England Goals: Wright 40, 62

Germany Goals: Gomez 11, Ludwig 53, Cimen 79 

From Daniel Freedman