Archie Gray is one step away from winning another trophy but Tottenham duo suffer heartbreak
It has been a contrasting last 24 hours for the Tottenham contingent involved in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, with Archie Gray set to be involved in another major final while two other Spurs youngsters were dumped out of the tournament.
From a Spurs perspective, all eyes have been on Mathys Tel, who has been one of the shining lights in the tournament for France’s U21s.
The 20-year-old forward was the hero for France in their quarterfinal, netting a brilliant late match winner, with Tel even being likened to Thierry Henry after his classy finish.
However, his Spurs teammate, Wilson Odobert, has come under criticism from the French press for his lacklustre performances in the tournament.
France knocked out but England book a place in the finals
Both Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert started for the French in their semifinals but they were brushed aside by Germany, who emerged 3-0 winners to progress to the showpiece final.
The Germans will be taking on the Young Lions in the final, with England emerging 2-1 winners over the Netherlands owing to a brace by Harvey Elliot.
Archie Gray came as a substitute in injury time to help England see off the win and the Spurs youngster now has an opportunity to make it two trophies in two months when they face the Germans in Bratislava on Sunday.
Is Archie Gray’s lack of minutes a worry for Tottenham?
Gray started as the right-back for England in their first two games of the tournament against Czechia and Slovenia but has since dropped to the bench for their subsequent three matches.
Newcastle’s Tino Livramento has been getting the nod to start at right-back, while the Tottenham Hotspur man has also been unable to displace the centre-back partnership of Charlie Cresswell and Jarell Quansah.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson have been England’s preferred pairing in midfield.
Despite Gray’s versatility and abundance of talent, it would appear, based on Lee Carsley’s selection decisions, that the Spurs man is not as good in any one position as the best young English starlets.
However, that could simply be down to Carsley’s system or the fact that Gray is two or three years younger than a lot of his teammates, many of whom have vast Premier League experience.
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