Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has admonished his teammates to be confident ahead of their World Cup opener against Tunisia, a game which the Spurs midfielder believes will need a “patient” but “ruthless” approach. speaking to reporters Alli said “We know we have to be ruthless. It’s international football. You are not going to get too many chances, so when they do come you have to be ruthless and put it in the back of the net.
“We are going to have to be patient. Tunisia defend very well, so if we do have a lot of possession we have to make sure we are not forcing it. We have to stick together as a team.” England have not won their opening game at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup, so Alli and rest of the England team will be hoping to make a better impression in Volgograd tonight.
And beyond that, Alli was reluctant to put a cap on England’s expectations. “I don’t think we can put a limit on what is possible for this tournament. We don’t want to say we can only get to the quarters or semi-finals. We believe we can go all the way. We have to. There is no point coming here and believing anything else.” Meanwhile, Tunisia’s coach has picked Dele Alli as England’s most dangerous player ahead of tonight’s match-up.