Dele Alli insists England fear no one at the World Cup and wants to bring his big-game reputation to bear on Russia 2018. Gareth Southgate’s men face Colombia in the last 16 on Tuesday in Moscow, with a quarter-final against Switzerland or Sweden the prize on offer.
It presents the Three Lions with a chance to win a knockout game at a major tournament for the first time since 2006, when another South American opponent, Ecuador, went down 1-0 to a David Beckham free-kick.
“I’m happy Southgate kept me on. I had a similar injury when [Spurs] played Real Madrid and I scored two,” Alli said, reflecting on his star turn in Spurs’ thrilling 3-1 win over the European champions at Wembley last November. “I was happy I wasn’t taken off then.”