ALLI: EURO 2016 WAS THE BEST OF TIMES AND THE WORST OF TIMES
DELE ALLI believes the Euro 2016 nightmare was a painful lesson England will never forget. The 21-year-old is convinced the current squad head to the World Cup stronger for having gone through what was among the darkest times in the nation’s football history. “The Euros was one of the best experiences of my career and one of the worst at the same time,” said the Three Lions midfielder. “But everything’s a new experience and you learn from it all. “Growing up you see the big tournaments on the TV, look at all the flags flying out of the windows and see how much it means to the country, to be a part of it was massive but the way it ended was a huge disappointment. “As a team, it would have been quite easy to hide, not to look back on it and get it out of your memory, but it was important we went through it so it doesn’t happen again. I think as a team and as individuals we’re stronger from going through that.
“I think we’ve gained from it. You never know what will happen in a tournament, but as a team we feel stronger, more together and we are learning from it.”
The fiasco in France, with England knocked out in the last 16 by Iceland, was Alli’s first major tournament with his country and it would have been easy to retreat into his shell.
But he revealed Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino picked him up afterwards. He has a similarly close relationship with Gareth Southgate and is confident he can take his outstanding club form on to the international stage.
He added: “It was a sad time, not just for me but for all of the players. We felt we not only let our country down, but we let ourselves down.
“As soon as I came back to Tottenham, I spoke to the manager and the other boys. I knew we had to get on with it, keep improving, you can’t let it drag you down, you have to look forward and do whatever you need to make it right.
“Gareth’s a great manager and a great person. He’s easy to talk to, which I think is important.
“When you’re bringing in people from different clubs, it’s important everyone gets along and he is good at speaking to everyone. It’s a pleasure to play for him.”