Wayne Rooney led out, as captain, the youngest England team since 1959 to face a France side wracked with an acute sense of sorrow. The attacks in Paris had, so we thought, meant the end for this friendly match, but a decision to stage the tie was made amid the mourning, as a showing of defiance perhaps more than anything else. Rooney was England’s leader on paper, but Tottenham’s Dele Alli, just 19 years old, led by example, on his first senior England start. With club teammate Eric Dier also making his first start for the national team in a reserved midfield role, Alli was allowed to glide elegantly and upright, as he always is, from the centre into more threatening forward areas. Just as Dier slid back to become a quasi-centre back when the situation called for it, Alli slid forward into the box, adding a supplementary, retractable barb to the England attack. It is a fine, long-limbed England team with John Stones, Alli and Harry Kane forming a compelling spine.
Alli’s night was not without its tremulous moments: twice, a poor first touch scuppered an England break. But these unsure instances were made up for by other much more definite actions; a full-blooded 50/50 tackle, head-to-head with Morgan Schneiderlin, drew surprised applause from the crowd who had come to watch what they might have assumed would be a totally de-fanged friendly. And the sequence continued; Alli, having won back possession, lurked in a freshly minted pocket of space, and was found immediately by Wayne Rooney. With Schneiderlin still on his backside, Alli was free to scamper forwards, and did so without hesitation. With his sights set, he unleashed a swerving drive into the far corner, a goal of the highest order, emphatically handing his team the lead. With only eight Premier League starts to his name, Alli hasn’t wasted time making an impression for both club and country.
Some might not realise that Alli isn’t a Tottenham product. The teenager is a result of the MK Dons youth system, a club he broke through at, and for whom he scored 16 goals in his last season there. He won the Football League’s Young Player of the Year award that season, a deserved reward indeed. Tottenham purchased Alli for a reported £5 million in the 14/15 season, and are now enjoying the fruits of their prudent investment.
Alli was principally involved in England’s second goal as well, tackling the freshly arrived Paul Pogba with precision and thrust, and feeding Raheem Sterling, who in turn crossed for Rooney to volley home. It will be difficult for Alli to find a more formidable set of midfield opponents than Pogba, Schneiderlin, Blaise Matuidi and Yohan Cabaye, and certainly he will not face as talented a midfield this weekend against West Ham. But, with the sombre circumstances of this match withstanding, not to mention it being a friendly, Alli will likely face a comparable task against Mark Noble and co. Ross Barkley, Alli’s England colleague, found it very tough going trying to navigate through the barrier that Noble and Chiekhou Kouyate set up in the last round of the league.
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West Ham have won all of their London derbies so far this season, beating Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Chelsea. Slaven Bilic’s team won’t outrun Tottenham, who have nearly universally outworked their opposition under Mauricio Pochettino, but they are no slouches in this regard, capable of competing with vigour until the very last second. Tottenham will have welcomed the news that Hammers star Dimitri Payet will be ruled out for up to three months; Payet is a potent danger to all defences. Dier, playing in his new defensive midfield position, will now focus his attention primarily on Manuel Lanzini, who himself has been one of the season’s best signings.
So, where West Ham entered the international break frustrated and with their star sidelined, Tottenham’s stars have only turned up their levels of luminosity. Dier was highly diligent against France, and Kane was extremely active, but it was Alli who really excelled. No Premier League manager has fielded a younger set of players than Pochettino’s average starting XI so far this season, and with Alli at their core, youth is not only being given a chance in North London, it’s grasping it firmly with both hands. There are countless examples of young players being overexposed early in their careers, particularly when they’re English. But Alli, so far, has looked utterly accustomed to these heady heights, and is showing the intention only to ascend further still.
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