VIDEO NASTIES ENSURE WE’LL BE NO PATSIES
DELE ALLI has urged England to learn from their heartbreaking World Cup semifinal defeat, just as they did after crashing out of Euro 2016 to Iceland
England’s preparations for their first match in the new Nations League have included watching a video of the Croatia game in Moscow in July and the midfielder said that was the only way to avoid making the same mistakes.
“It was important to look at the Croatia game,” said the Spurs star. “We must learn from our mistakes. If you don’t watch games back then you won’t learn from them.”
The 22-year-old said England boss Gareth Southgate, when he took over in the hot-seat, made his squad sit through the Iceland debacle.
“When Gareth came in he felt it was important to watch the Iceland game back,” said Dele (below). “We went through the hard times and I felt we came out a lot stronger after watching it and reflecting on it rather than just burying it. It is the same this time. You learn from mistakes.”
England open their Nations League campaign against Spain tomorrow — their semi-final conquerors Croatia are the third team in the group – and Alli is relishing the challenge.
“We want to be testing ourselves against the best teams in the world,” said the England star. “Spain have always been a really good team and Croatia beat us in the World Cup. They are tough games but we are confident and I’m sure the fans will be behind us.”