Archie Gray on 'tough' Kazakhstan test

Young Lions midfielder Archie Gray is raring to go with the England men’s under-21s back in action next week.

The Tottenham Hotspur starlet was a part of Lee Carsley’s UEFA U21 EURO-winning squad who beat Germany in the final in Slovakia this summer to retain their European title.

The MU21s have been in Georgia for a training camp before kicking off their 2027 EURO qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan on Monday 8 September (4pm BST kick-off) at the Ortalyq Stadion.

“It’s a different camp, obviously straight after the EUROs,” said Gray. “There’s a lot of new faces and it being in a different country that the game’s being played too, especially with only one game, it’s been good.

“The setup over here is good, the hotel is really nice and the training ground is very good. We’re just focused on the game and getting to know everyone.”

Carsley’s side will play the one game during the September international window, reporting for duty again next month when they pick up where they left off, going head-to-head with Moldova before taking on Andorra at Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium.

But for now, Gray explained focus is on bonding as a group.

“Just now, we’re just getting to know each other and understanding how each other play football,” he continued. “There are loads of different playing styles and how people play at their clubs is different to how we all play.

“It’s almost like a pre-season camp with your club, especially with the week of training that we’ve got. Having two games would’ve been difficult to get to know each other a bit more, so having this one game is a little bit better for us to gel as a team.

“There’s not many of the same players as last time, so I definitely feel like an older one even though I’m not. We’ve got a good group and it’s a young squad, so there’s a lot we can all improve on for the next two days. It’s an exciting group.”

And although England are expecting a ‘tough’ game in Kazakhstan, the Young Lions are eager to book their place at the next iteration of the tournament.

“We know it’ll be a difficult game. They play good football and they’re a very physical team,” explained Gray.

“I think the message is sort of similar. We’ve got the chance to create history again and Cars was saying there’s no team that’s ever won it three times in a row, so we’ve got to be pushing for that every camp but it’s the start of a camp and we’ve got two years to go.”