England face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has told The Guardian that he hopes to nutmeg Croatia midfielder Luka Modric again on Wednesday night.
Alli will be part of the England side heading to Saint Petersburg on Wednesday for their crucial World Cup semi-final clash against Croatia.
The Spurs ace scored his first goal of the competition on Saturday afternoon as he headed home Jesse Lingard’s cross to seal a 2-0 win against Sweden, and fans will be hoping that it sparks improved performances after a disappointing tournament to date.
Alli will surely start again for Gareth Southgate’s side, and he will be part of a midfield attempting to stop Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric from running riot.
Alli and Modric will meet again in the middle of the park, and not only did they go head to head for Tottenham and Real Madrid respectively in a Champions League game last season, but also in the summer of 2015.
Spurs were giving Alli playing time in an Audi Cup game at Bayern’s Allianz Arena, and the young midfielder had only recently arrived from Milton Keynes Dons, but he pulled off a nonchalant nutmeg on Modric, drawing a disgruntled reaction from the former Tottenham hero.
The pair will battle again on Wednesday, and Alli has told The Guardian that he hopes to embarrass Modric again with another nutmeg on the international stage this time – but his focus will be on attempting to help England reach the World Cup final.
“Nutmeg him? Hopefully,” said Alli. “ I’m not going to focus on that. But it would be nice,” he added.
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