Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has revealed he hasn’t been happy with his own personal form with England at the World Cup.
While the Three Lions as a collective have been fantastic in Russia under Gareth Southgate so far, Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has arguably not shown his best form at the World Cup, and it’s something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the player himself.
The 22-year-old is seen as a starter by Southgate and has been called upon for all games except the clashes with Panama and Belgium. He didn’t feature against those sides due to injury, although he might have been rested against Belgium anyway.
Alli produced his best performance of the tournament so far though against Sweden in the quarter-final, scoring England’s second goal in the second half to kill off the game and send the Three Lions through to the semis.
A looping cross from Jesse Lingard to the back post was met perfectly by the former MK Dons youngster, and he’ll now be hoping to kick on from that goal, as he feels he hasn’t quite been at his best.
As quoted by the Mirror, Alli admitted about the Sweden game: “I spoke to the manager and some of my team-mates because I didn’t feel like I was playing as well as I should have been. I even spoke to my family.
“On the ball, I wasn’t sharp enough, I didn’t keep it as much as I should have. I’m my own biggest critic. I know I can play better than that.”
England take on Croatia on Wednesday in what is the biggest international football fixture for the nation in years, with a potential date with either France or Belgium in Sunday’s final. Alli might not have performed to his highest level so far, but is improving and should be handed another start against Zlatko Dalic’s side.
The situation is a far cry away from the bitter disappointments of Euro 2016 and crashing out at the hands of Iceland, and England as a country appear to have been united by football fever.
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