Tottenham star, 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.
A feel-good factor remains around the current squad, despite a much-changed XI going down to a limp 1-0 defeat against Belgium in the final Group G game, although Tottenham midfielder Alli has endured a stop-start tournament. A thigh injury sustained during the opening 2-1 win against Tunisia has left the 22-year-old sidelined since, but he does not regret the decision to play through the pain.
“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.”