West Ham United youngsters Kyle Knoyle and Reece Burke started as England U18s took on Croatia in an international friendly at St George's Park on Monday.
The Young Lions fell to a 2-1 defeat after holding the lead in the first half through Cameron Brannagan's strike.
England were on top before the break and were a whisker away from doubling the advantage when Brannagan curled a shot just past the post.
Croatia turned the game on its head in the second half to claim the spoils thanks to goal from Marko Stolnik and Nikola Vlasic.
England will have the oppotunity to gain swift revenge against the same opponents, when they host them in a second friendly on Wednesday.