Sunderland boss Steve Bruce insists Jordan Henderson will be better for his England debut this week.

Bruce believes Henderson, who looked overawed by the occasion, and the other younger England players must be given time to develop and has called on the public and the media not to write them off too soon.

He said of his Sunderland's Henderson: "It was fantastic to see him in an England shirt and I'm sure he enjoyed it. The team struggled against France and the kid did okay. He did as well as anyone else on the night as far as I'm concerned.

"It was a tough one for him. We've got to be honest, the French were far, far better on the night. He could have done with a little bit more experience around him.

"Maybe we had a little bit too much inexperience and that showed a little bit against a very, very good French team. But he'll learn from it.

"He's had a wonderful rise in 18 months, now's the next stage, to make sure he matures and develops, and that's where we've got to be careful.

"He's a wonderful talent and we must nurture that talent and get the best out of it rather than building him up and building him up, like this country tends to do, and knocking him down very quickly.

"We're clamouring to give the youngsters a chance then we get beaten by the French youngsters.

"The French are in a big changeover period as well but when you look at players like (Samir) Nasri and (Florent) Malouda and (Yoann) Gourcuff, they're always going to be strong.

"Our young players will learn from it and we must be patient, which unfortunately in our country we're not."