England’s strength in depth an asset

ERIC Dier believes Gareth Southgate’s ruthless selection for England’s prestige friendlies against Germany and Brazil will help guard against complacency.

Southgate axed regulars Daniel Sturridge, Alex OxladeChamberlain, Jermain Defoe and Chris Smalling for the glamorous double header and continued to overlook Jack Wilshere and peripheral figures including Fraser Forster and Aaron Cresswell.

The manager had indicated ahead of October’s World Cup qualifiers that injuries left him selecting players who were fortunate to get the call and there can be no doubt now that he is serious.

Tottenham midfielder Dier backed Southgate’s decision and thinks it will keep the nation’s best players hungry.

“It is the way it has to be,” he said. “Playing for your country is the pinnacle of football.

“It is what you all want to do and it has to be special. I think that it’s essential, you cannot just think you will be in very squad because you have done ‘X and X’ in previous years. It has to be constant.

“You always have to be on your toes to get the call-up otherwise you can become complacent and I don’t think that is a good thing.”

Dier, having survived the mini cull, can now look forward to appearing against two of the game’s super powers at Wembley.

The sides are currently ranked one and two in the world by Fifa, Friday’s opponents Germany taking top spot, and will provide a clearer barometer of where England are than recent foe Slovenia and Lithuania.

Of the test, Dier said: “If we get embarrassed then there is a lot more to work on. If we don’t, we are on the right path.”