France U21 3-2 England U21

Celtic's Moussa Dembele has scored 18 goals this season

England Under-21s' 15-match unbeaten run has ended after Celtic striker Moussa Dembele scored twice for hosts France in Bondoufle.

England led the friendly through Duncan Watmore's sublime 35-yard chip.

Dembele hammered in the equaliser, then scored his 18th goal of the season with a powerful free-kick.

England levelled through Lewis Baker's curling set-piece, but another exquisite free-kick from Wylan Cyprien clinched victory for Les Bleus.

Chelsea youngster Baker almost nicked a dramatic draw, only to see his swerving low shot pushed out by the France keeper.

It meant the Young Lions lost for the first time since their 3-1 defeat by Italy at the European Championship finals last year.

And England interim coach Aidy Boothroyd, who has stepped up from the Under-20s while Gareth Southgate takes charge of the senior side, saw his temporary reign end with a loss.

The former Watford manager made sweeping changes for the friendly against Les Bleus, giving playing time to fringe members of the squad in the run-up to next summer's European Championship in Poland.

England reached the finals by winning six and drawing two of their eight qualifiers, but the much-changed side was beaten by a French team who failed to make the tournament.

Stunning strikes from Watmore and Baker appeared to be enough for a draw, only for Cyprien to convert the winner just seconds after England's equaliser.

Post-match reaction

England interim manager Aidy Boothroyd: "We can't win every game, we have got to take lessons from defeats like these.

"When you are away from home, you're not only against the opposition and the crowd, sometimes the referees make mistakes too. I thought the referee made mistakes, I thought the free-kick decisions were harsh. We will learn from this game.

On his future, he added: "I've enjoyed the four games, but what will be will be."

England captain Nathaniel Chalobah: "Some of the decisions for the free-kicks from which they scored were harsh - but we have got to move on from it.

"The games against Italy and France have been tests for us. We could play friendly games against weaker opposition but playing against two top countries has been a good test for us going into Poland next year."

England scorer Duncan Watmore: "We were unlucky. We were good in a lot of the game, but scored some good free-kicks. We are disappointed."