Dier believes he can make World Cup squad
ERIC DIER is determined to play his way into World Cup contention and believes Tottenham’s exciting new dawn can help him reach Qatar as part of England’s squad. ‘That’s a clear objective of mine,’ said Dier, 28. ‘I would never shy away from that. I want to be there. It’s just up to me playing the best I can. Take everything from last season and kick on. ‘That’s all I can focus on, give myself every opportunity and have no regrets in the way I do everything leading up to the next England squad and World Cup and see what happens. ‘There’s nothing quite like a World Cup. It was an incredible time and I’d love to be a part of another one.’
Dier was a hero in 2018. His was the winning penalty as England ended their shootout hoodoo by beating Colombia. ‘It’s a great memory for me,’ he said.
But almost two years have passed since the last of his 45 caps and 16 months since his last international call up.
He missed Euro 2020, and has yet to win a recall despite his consistency last season as Spurs qualified for the Champions League and Gareth Southgate will name only one squad before selecting 26 players for Qatar. ‘I’m surprised he wasn’t involved at the end of the season,’ said former Spurs and England centre-half Ledley King, on ambassadorial duties during the pre-season trip to South Korea. ‘He’s performing well in a good side. His aim will be to try to make the squad, no doubt. There’s no reason why he can’t. Missing out on the Euros he came back motivated to do well and we saw the season he had.’
Dier thrived in the heart of Antonio Conte’s back-three, the same shape favoured by England in recent games.
‘I’m learning a system under him here and I think it’s his system, he’s the best at it,’ said Dier. ‘There are so many things I can improve on and get better under him. There’s a lot more to come from that system and manager.’ Conte is preparing for his first full season in charge and already has five new recruits with Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Clement Lenglet.
Dier said: ‘I’m so happy on an individual — and I think I can speak on a collective level as well — everyone is really happy with how the summer has gone.’ Dier was talking after meeting with local children to support the Childfund Korea project, an event squeezed between two tough training sessions in the sticky heat. The second of Conte’s sessions was open to 6,000 fans, most wearing white Son Heung-min No 7 shirts, inside the Seoul World Cup Stadium where Spurs face a K-League all-star side tomorrow. Perisic, injured at the end of last season, did not take part as he is not yet fit enough for ball work and Dejan Kulusevski came off early, seemingly troubled by a calf muscle problem.