Match ends, Kazakhstan U21 0, England U21 1.
Kazakhstan U21Kazakhstan U210England U21England U211
England Under-21s booked their place at next summer's European Championship with a game to spare as they won in Kazakhstan.
Demarai Gray put the visitors in front early on by sidefooting in Nathan Redmond's low, deflected cross.
England were almost punished for not building on their lead but Brendan Galloway blocked an Alisher Suley shot.
Gray put Ruben Loftus-Cheek in on goal and although his attempted chip was saved, England took all three points.
Boothroyd off to winning start
Gareth Southgate had led the U21s to the brink of qualification but, after he took interim charge of the England senior side following Sam Allardyce's exit, U20s coach Aidy Boothroyd replaced him on a temporary basis.
Boothroyd said he was there to "help the team to get themselves over the line" and reach Euro 2017 in Poland in June.
And he duly did so, with unbeaten England topping Group Nine, having won five of their seven games to secure a sixth successive place in the finals tournament.
Their final group game will be on Tuesday, 11 October when they host Bosnia and Herzegovina in Walsall.
England lack cutting edge
Boothroyd resisted the temptation to start with striker Tammy Abraham, who has netted 11 goals in 14 games in all competitions since moving to Bristol City on loan from Chelsea for the season.
And despite the impressive Gray's first goal for the U21s getting the visitors off to a promising start, a dominant England failed to add to their lead as they lacked a cutting edge up front.
Marcus Rashford had scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Norway last time out but was absent having been called up to the senior England side.
He was sorely missed as, despite Gray and Nathan Redmond - who are more used to playing as wingers - appearing to share striking duties with Loftus-Cheek in an advanced midfield role in Kazakhstan, England struggled to make the most of their possession.
What they said:
England U21 interim boss Aidy Boothroyd told BT Sport: "Considering the occasion, need to get points and the partisan atmosphere, I thought that the way we played was controlled.
"I thought we created some really good chances, particularly in the first half, and perhaps could be a bit disappointed we didn't score more goals.
"Demarai did very well. I thought it was a very good team performance all the way through but Demarai took his goal very well."
Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.
Line-ups
Kazakhstan U21
Formation 4-3-3
- 18Pavlov
- 2Aslan
- 3Rudoselskiy
- 4SartakovBooked at 29mins
- 13Shaikhov
- 5Saparov
- 6Tuliev
- 23VorogovskiyBooked at 44minsSubstituted forKalmuratovat 85'minutes
- 10SuleyBooked at 38minsSubstituted forZhalmukanat 45'minutesBooked at 73mins
- 11Tungyshbayev
- 7FedinSubstituted forAimbetovat 74'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Kolbuntsov
- 8Sokolenko
- 9Zhalmukan
- 16Sultanov
- 17Aimbetov
- 19Kalmuratov
- 21Valiullin
England U21
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 1Woodman
- 2Holgate
- 5Chambers
- 6HoldingBooked at 4mins
- 3Galloway
- 4Chalobah
- 8Ward-Prowse
- 7Baker
- 10Loftus-CheekSubstituted forWatmoreat 73'minutes
- 9GraySubstituted forAbrahamat 85'minutes
- 11Redmond
Substitutes
- 12Stephens
- 13Walton
- 14Hayden
- 15Swift
- 16Abraham
- 17Watmore
- 18Onomah
- Referee:
- Sergei Lapochkin
- Attendance:
- 12,720
Match Stats
Home TeamKazakhstan U21Away TeamEngland U21
- Possession
- Home18%
- Away82%
- Shots
- Home7
- Away16
- Shots on Target
- Home0
- Away5
- Corners
- Home1
- Away9
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away8
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Kazakhstan U21 0, England U21 1.
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Post update
Delay in match Yerkebulan Tungyshbayev (Kazakhstan U21) because of an injury.
Post update
Offside, Kazakhstan U21. Yerkebulan Tungyshbayev tries a through ball, but Berik Shaikhov is caught offside.
Post update
Foul by Nathaniel Chalobah (England U21).
Post update
Miras Tuliev (Kazakhstan U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Rafkat Aslan (Kazakhstan U21) right footed shot from long range on the right is too high from a direct free kick.
Post update
Foul by Rob Holding (England U21).
Post update
Yerkebulan Tungyshbayev (Kazakhstan U21) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Attempt saved. Tammy Abraham (England U21) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Nathan Redmond with a cross.
Substitution
Substitution, Kazakhstan U21. Kuanysh Kalmuratov replaces Yan Vorogovskiy.
Substitution
Substitution, England U21. Tammy Abraham replaces Demarai Gray.
Post update
Brendan Galloway (England U21) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Abat Aimbetov (Kazakhstan U21).
Post update
Corner, England U21. Conceded by Stanislav Pavlov.
Post update
Attempt saved. Demarai Gray (England U21) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Lewis Baker.
Post update
Attempt missed. Altynbek Saparov (Kazakhstan U21) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Abat Aimbetov (Kazakhstan U21) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Altynbek Saparov.
Substitution
Substitution, Kazakhstan U21. Abat Aimbetov replaces Maxim Fedin.
