WE’LL TARGET ALLI
Tunisia manager pinpoints Dele as the main threat
TUNISIA manager Nabil Maaloul has ordered his players to target Dele Alli in their bid to pull off a major World Cup shock against England tonight.
Maaloul believes stopping Alli’s understanding with Harry Kane holds the key to his team earning a famous win over Gareth Southgate’s side at the Volgograd Arena.
Alli and Kane have struck up a lethal partnership for Tottenham at Premier League level — Alli has provided Kane with 11 assists in the last two seasons — and Southgate hopes their relationship will flourish.
Maaloul said: ‘Alli is a very good player, an excellent player. This is the future of the England team. He can play anywhere — central midfielder, second forward, behind the forward, out on the left. He’s so important.
‘ It’s very important we close him down because we know the partnership between him and Kane at Spurs. If we manage to break that association, that would be a huge advantage. The English team have so many weapons but the most dangerous is Dele Alli in the way he sees the match and plays that last pass.’
Maaloul also believes that England are a completely different proposition from the side humiliated by Iceland at Euro 2016.
‘I was at the stadium for the England versus Iceland game, I think more than 70 per cent of players have changed since then,’ he said. ‘There is a new team that we are seeing. The current English team are much stronger than 2016.
‘I think, sincerely, England can win the World Cup.’
On his team’s own chances, the 55-year-old added: ‘Our aim is to go beyond the group stage and into the last 16, or even the quarter-finals. I think we are well equipped to play well in this group.’