DIER’S D-DAY!
Last chance of an England recall for Spurs defender
THE case for Eric Dier’s England recall, which has been gathering support and good reason for months, will reach its decisive stage in a week when he returns to where it all began.
Tottenham’s next game will be Tuesday’s Champions League tie at Sporting Lisbon, a club where Dier came through the academy ranks and made his debut in senior football nearly a decade ago.
Two days later, Gareth Southgate will reveal his final England squad selection before the World Cup finals in Qatar, ahead of UEFA Nations League games against Italy and Germany.
It could be quite a week for the 28- year- old Spurs centre back, who has made no secret of his desire to add to his 45 England caps and attend another World Cup.
‘ That’s a clear objective of mine,’ he said, in July. ‘I would never shy away from that. I want to be there.
‘There’s nothing quite like a World Cup. I would love to be part of another one. It’s just up to me playing the best I can. Take everything from last season and kick on.’
This, he has done. Dier has been ever- present at the heart of Antonio Conte’s back-three this season. In fact, he has started every Premier League game for his club since mid-February, when he missed two defeats in four days against Southampton and Wolves.
The upturn in results perhaps hints at his value to Conte. Since then, Tottenham have lost only three of 22 in the league, each by the odd goal, and have kept 10 clean sheets in the process.
Conte is a coach who builds teams on deep- set defensive foundations — and an unflinching advocate of a tactical formation that plays to Dier’s strengths and protects his weaknesses.
Few coaches, if any, play this particular system better or hammer the shape into the minds of their players more meticulously.
Dier’s appreciation of the game and technical ability on the ball — hallmarks of his Portuguese footballing upbringing — are perfect for the central defender in a back-three.
His limited pace is less of a problem when flanked by more mobile defenders, and shielded by two deep in midfield, and he can see the game, organise and cajole others from the heart of the team. He is a vocal presence and a natural leader by example. As Jose Mourinho once pointed out, a player who ‘likes the conflict’.
In short, this is Dier in his best position. Moreover, he is refining it under Conte, a master of the system.
All at a time in his career when he can lean upon his experiences and knowledge accrued from other roles, including as a holding midfielder, a position he fulfilled for England, including at the last World Cup in Russia, before the emergence of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips.
‘I told him playing in midfield would make him a better defender when he made the move,’ said Ledley King, legendary former Tottenham centre back and captain, who was part of Jose Mourinho’s coaching team when Dier decided his future would be in defence, not midfield.
‘You see the game a lot easier. As someone who played a fair bit in midfield myself, I know that from centre half you are facing the game and you have a lot more time.
‘In terms of him on the ball, his use of the ball, knowing when to push into midfield and what you’re leaving behind when you’re doing that, closing people down, all these little things are things you have to learn. That comes with experience, learning all the tricks.
‘But having played in midfield it gives you a different feeling with players running from midfield. I felt the game became a lot easier, and Eric will feel that as well.
‘ I am really delighted he’s showing his true form and looking like a real top-class centre half.’
Crucial to Dier’s hopes of an international recall is the fact that Southgate also likes to
play with a back-three — while his resurgence has come alongside Harry Maguire losing his place in the Manchester United team after a poor run of form. Timing can be a factor. Luck can play a part as careers ebb and flow. Maybe it will also not harm Dier that today’s fixture against Manchester City, and his duel with Premier League top-scorer Erling Haaland, has been postponed ahead of a very important week.