BEFORE THE WORLD CUP CALL-UP, ERIC DIER BELIEVED HE WOULD NEVER PLAY FOR ENGLAND AGAIN

To Gain Re-Entry Into England's Reckoning, The Defender Has Started 21 Of Tottenham's 22 Matches This Season.

Dier is delighted to be traveling to Qatar with England. However, he has admitted that he feared never playing for England again - let alone being picked for this year's World Cup. Gareth Southgate included the Tottenham center-back in his 26-man squad on Thursday, after he was only recalled to the Three Lions in September. Dier hadn't played for England since 2020, which prevented him from being a part of last year's run to the Euros final.

A key member of Southgate's team at the last World Cup in Russia, Spurs defender Dier is eager to create another "incredible experience" during the next month. It is evident that I am in a very privileged position to be able to play at my second World Cup. I once believed I would no longer be associated with England. As a result of my hard work and dedication, I have been able to regain my position. My pride in that is immense. It is a great honor for me to be attending another World Cup, and I cannot wait to go.

“This is going to be a life-changing experience for me”. Dier played the best football of his career during the time Antonio Conte arrived at Tottenham last November. He is likely to start for England against Iran on November 21, the opening match of their World Cup campaign. The versatile footballer has made mistakes in recent weeks, but he and his Spurs teammates have endured a relentless schedule.

In a 43-day period during which Tottenham played 13 matches, Dier admitted that it had taken its toll on his body. It is a hectic schedule. Playing every three days for I don't know how long has never happened to me in my life," the 28-year-old claimed. “In spite of the fact that I am not quite sure how long it has been, it feels as if one year has passed. It has been extremely challenging for everyone, including players, staff, and medical departments, as well as coaches. The past few months have been challenging, and I am glad to be able to get through them uninjured. It has generally been a successful process for us.”

I was disappointed with a few results towards the end, but I believe everyone has gone through that – look at Man City (losing to Brentford) – so, this has been a challenging time for everyone. Injuries to Dejan Kukusevski and Richarlison have contributed to the Spurs' lack of consistency over the last two months. However, the team ended the first half of the campaign in the last 16 of the Champions League and fourth in the Premier League. According to Conte, a lack of training time at the club contributed to the leaky defense following last weekend's dramatic seven-goal comeback against Leeds. “In my opinion, the first half of the season has been successful," Dier concluded. As a result, we are in the Champions League and among the top four teams. Our goal was to finish with a victory.

"It was a difficult process. Our team made it difficult for ourselves, and we have been doing that recently, but at the same time, they are a very good team. They have achieved many good results against a variety of top teams and even beat Liverpool away. We keep on coming back, it is frustrating, but at the same time, we have a lot of confidence in our abilities. As soon as we got the equalizer, we knew that we would be able to win the game. Although we were 3-2 down at the time, we believed that if we were able to score that equalizer, we would win. There are just too many goals we concede at the moment, that's the problem.”

Among the five natural center-backs in the England squad, Dier is joined by Harry Maguire, John Stones, Ben White, and Conor Coady, while Kyle Walker has previously played on the right side of a back three. November 21 marks the start of the Three Lions' campaign against Iran.

By Rashmi Goel