Tottenham can Spur England on to success
TOTTENHAM are likely to provide five of Roy Hodgson’s starting line-up when England open their Euro 2016 campaign against Russia.
Harry Kane will lead the attack, no matter what formation Roy Hodgson selects, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose are favourites for the full-back spots, and Eric Dier will anchor midfield with Dele Alli alongside him.
Hodgson hopes that having a core of young, energised club-mates will give England an advantage as they aim to hit the ground running in Marseille.
“It’s great to be going into the tournament with so many Spurs mates,” says Kane.
“For my part, I just want to get out there and start playing. These three friendlies seem to have taken forever.
“But they’ve given us the chance to work on what we needed to work on, different tactics, different formations. We’ve done all we can to prepare.
“Hopefully, I’ll be leading the line. The No.9 shirt means a lot to me. There have been so many great players in the past wearing it.
“But to be an international striker you have to be prepared to play in different systems. Whatever the manager wants, I’m ready.”
Rose admits that he usually spends tournament summers watching England games on TV while he’s away on holiday.
Last August he thought it would be the same again this time, believing he was at best fifth choice.
“At the start of the season, I never thought this would be possible,” he says.
“Luke Shaw was heavily involved before his injury and there was also Kieran Gibbs, Leighton Baines and Ryan Bertrand.
“I’d only been playing regularly for Spurs for the last couple of years, so I thought it would be hard for me to break into the England set-up with those four playing so well.
“Whenever England have qualified for a major tournament before, I spent my summer trying to tune into the games while on holiday.
“It’s strange to think I’m involved in one now.
“It wasn’t until the internationals in March that I started thinking that going to the Euros might be possible.
“Baines and Shaw were injured at the time, which meant I managed to get into the squad.
“I was still unsure whether I’d get the call for the summer because Baines came back and I thought the manager might want to go with tournament experience.
“It was a nice surprise when I got the text confirming I was in the 26.”
Dier has also been fasttracked into the senior England side following a revelatory campaign has a defensive midfielder.
“It’s a very, very proud moment for me and my family,” he says.
“I think it’s thoroughly deserved for the season all five of us had at Tottenham.
“As I got older I opened my eyes more to this kind of opportunity and realised that it could be a possibility.
“But I never have expected it would come soon.”