Watch the moment Eric Dier smashes home England World Cup winner but hilariously misses celebration bundle
Tottenham ace had struggled during his late sub appearance but sent the nation wild with his winning spot kick to finally end Three Lions' World Cup penalty hoodoo
ERIC DIER might have balls of steel to rifle home a winning England shoot-out penalty – but totally missed the celebration bundle with mis-timed dive.
After a worrying late substitute appearance, with a pass completion rate of less than 25 per cent, the Tottenham man came to the rescue of the Three Lions.
The 24-year-old Spurs star, who grew up in Portugal, crashed home the decisive spot-kick to send Gareth Southgate’s men through to the quarter-finals. But he could have spoiled it all with a late dive.
He then dashed back to his team-mates after sending Colombia packing, but managed to miss his elated team as he tried to leap into the throng.
Dier admitted he was nervous from 12-yards after he sent a free header wide that would have put Gareth Southgate’s side 2-0 up.
The defensive midfielder then watched in agony as Colombia snatched a late equaliser to force extra-time.
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Dier said: “It was a nervous one.
"I’ve never really been in a situation like that before but felt I had to score after missing the header at the end, so I’m just thankful I scored.
Dier also paid tribute to England keeper Jordan Pickford, who saved from Carlos Bacca in the shoot-out moments before the Tottenham midfielder converted the winning penalty.
He said: “Jordan is a fantastic keeper and deserves everything.
"His attitude is brilliant, he’s been brilliant in training and took that into the game.
“To get knocked down like we did, it’s difficult to come back from it. But we knew what we had to do and we stayed calm. We never panicked. We were ready for that.”