England vs Italy: Dele Alli fears for World Cup place as he’s set to be benched by Gareth Southgate again for Wembley clash
Tottenham star expects to remain on the bench for tonight’s sell-out friendly with Italy amidst his poor run of form
DELE ALLI fears he could lose his starting place at the World Cup.
The Tottenham star expects to remain on the bench for tonight’s sell-out friendly with Italy.
That is a result of him delivering some below-par performances for both club and country.
Alli, 21, has picked up 23 caps but although he is one of the team’s most gifted players, the midfielde now knows he is not a certainty in Gareth Southgate’s starting XI.
He started on the bench for Friday’s 1-0 win at Holland, replacing match-winner Jesse Lingard in the 68th minute.
Yesterday, England chief Southgate did not tell his players the full team for the match tonight.
Yet the England chief did hold a long talk with Alli after training, explaining that he wanted to keep experimenting.
But Alli’s omission from the side is likely to be the one main shock.
DAVE KIDD Tottenham star Dele Alli must impress against Italy or risk missing out on World Cup opener
Alli was part of the England squad for their last major tournament - the outrageously disappointing Euro 2016 campaign.
However, the Spurs man believes England are stronger now for their Iceland humiliation.
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Alli said: “Hopefully it will be a different story this time. Everyone’s on a journey and every day I’m experiencing more — you try to learn from it all.
“The Euros was one of the best and worst experiences of my career at the same time. Growing up, you watch the big tournaments on TV.
“You see the flags flying out of the windows and how much it means to the country — to be part of it was massive.
"But the way it ended in France was a huge disappointment.
“As a team, it would have been easy to hide, not to look back on it and get it out of our memories.
"But it was important we went through it, so that it doesn’t happen again. I think as a team, and as individuals, we’re stronger from going through that.”