Alli shows why he is the man for the big occasions
Dele Alli does not turn 21 for another two weeks and yet in almost every game for club and country he manages to set new standards.
On a night that was far better than the result suggests, Alli was fantastic, England’s best player and a perfect encapsulation of what Gareth Southgate is trying to do with this young team. If this England team is to go anywhere in the next few years then it will be dragged there by Alli's striding brilliance.
Maybe it should be no surprise that Alli looked so home on such a big stage. He was excellent against
Germany this time last year, not in Dortmund but at Berlin’s even bigger Olympistadion, a night when he showed he could mix it at the very top. He has shone for Tottenham in the Champions League and Europa League, as well as against the biggest teams in the country.
As soon as Southgate came into this job he knew that Alli was the man to build around.
At the Westfalenstadion he was England’s star, at the heart of everything they did well for their excellent first hour. Southgate pushed him behind Jamie Vardy in a 3-4-2-1 system that is not very different from how he plays for Spurs. It was Alli’s job to press high, robbing the ball from German defenders. He did that bravely, snapping into tackles and not giving them a moment’s rest.
For Spurs Alli has a brilliant natural understanding with Harry Kane. It was not quite the same with Vardy but he still found him well, playing clever passes that with a bit more luck would have been assists.
Alli was not the threat in the box he is for Tottenham as he did not have quite the same quality of crosses to feed off. But he did have England’s best chance, running onto Vardy’s pass but waiting a split second too long to shot, allowing Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to block. When Alli got into the wide areas, he showed his natural skill, beating Jonas Hector with a move that will be imitated in schoolyards everywhere.
Most players move down the pitch as they grow up, from attacking roles into deeper ones, but Alli is on the opposite path. When Mauricio Pochettino first saw him play, back in the autumn of 2014, the 18-yearold Alli was playing in holding midfield for MK Dons in their famous 4-0 defeat of Manchester United in
the League Cup.
When Alli arrived at Spurs Pochettino started him in midfield, as a number 10 or as an inside-left in his 4-2-3-1. This year he has moved up into a striking role, often playing nearly alongside Harry Kane in a system that is almost 3-5-2. Pochettino wants to make the most of his natural aggression, sense of timing and killer instincts. How better to do that than to play him up front?
That is why Alli has 15 Premier League goals already this season, 18 in all competitions, and it is not fanciful to suggest that he could finish the season with even more than Harry Kane, currently recovering from an ankle ligament injury.
Clearly Gareth Southgate has had the same realisation, which is why Alli is following similar path with England. In the autumn internationals Southgate used Alli in the number 10 role, even if that meant sacrificing Wayne Rooney from the job he had been doing for England over the last few years.
As soon as Southgate came into this job he knew that Alli was the man to build around. He had only played two games for the Under-21s, his rapid rise from the lower leagues leapfrogging him past so many academy players who get stuck at under-21 level for too long.
What Southgate sees in Alli is the same as what Pochettino sees in him: a very rare mix of athleticism, skill, speed but above all sharp instincts and courage. That is why he will be the driving force for club and country for years to come.