‘I’m Extremely Proud To Play At My Second World Cup’ –Dier

Tottenham defender Eric Dier has admitted that he will o everything to making England proud at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Recall that Dier was among the 26-man list released by England manager, Gareth Southgate last week Thursday.

Dier, 28, was part of the England squads for Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 but missed out of a place at the last European Championships after his form nosedived for Spurs.

But since the appointment of Antonio Conte as Spurs head coach a year ago, Dier has impressed as part of a back three and he earned a first England call-up in 18 months for the September internationals.

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The centre-half is now hoping to be part of Gareth Southgate’s defence in Qatar and says he is proud to be going to another finals.

“I am extremely proud to play at my second World Cup,” Dier said. “Obviously I am well aware it is a very privileged position to be in. There was a time when I thought I wasn’t going to be in anyway involved with England anymore.

“I have had to work very hard, fight a lot to get back in. I am very proud of that. I am proud to be going to another World Cup. I can’t wait. It is going to be an incredible experience. I am really looking forward to being a part of it.”

He added: “The schedule is crazy, I have never experienced anything like it in my life. Playing every three days for I don’t know how long it has been – it’s unheard of I think. So, obviously it has been tough for everyone. But yeah that’s the situation.”

Style of play

Dier can play as a midfielder, centre-back and right-back. It has been noted that his versatility enabled Tottenham’s effective adoption of a flexible approach, allowing them to switch systems efficiently within a single match. Dier has said that he has mixed Portuguese and English footballing styles on his own. In 2018, ESPN‘s Mark Ogden described Dier as “more of a destroyer than a creator”.