The Tottenham forward is showing no signs of stage fright and says he is looking forward to the World Cup in Russia

There is nothing like a World Cup for making one feel old. It is not only the reminder that four years have passed every time one comes round, or even that four or five decades have flown by since events that still seem real and recent. More alarming still is the sudden realisation that what one regards as well-known modern history means little or nothing to the present generation of participants.

Take Dele Alli, for instance. Spurs’ midfielder-cum-secondary striker has an impetuous side to his nature that has led to the odd disciplinary issue over the past couple of years, so it seemed reasonable to ask whether he was aware that World Cup referees were often stricter and less forgiving than those encountered in club football.

“You know, Dele, like what happened with the David Beckham challenge on Diego Simeone in 1998?”

“I haven’t seen it.”

“It was one of those classic World Cup moments. Beckham was sent off for a really innocuous foul and England ended up losing the game. Obviously you won’t remember the match against Argentina if you were only two years old at the time but you must have seen replays of the incident since?”

“No. What did he do?”

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Almost nothing compared with what people have been getting away with since would have been one answer, though it was clearly time to move on. Alli can be excused a sketchy recollection of World Cup history. Though a keen footballer throughout his childhood, where he developed his skill-set playing on a concrete court after school, he has no particular memories of World Cups past other than the neighbourhood buzz he used to notice around England games when “everyone was in their front gardens with flags and barbecues”.

This time four years ago Alli was in Ireland on a pre-season tour with MK Dons. “I remember watching Brazil once but I can’t say which game it was,” he says. This is a player who has represented England at every youth level – under-17, U18, U19 and U21 – yet has nevertheless managed a meteoric rise. Even though his potential was spotted early, everything has still happened extraordinarily quickly since making the step up to Spurs.

“It’s been crazy, a lot of ups and downs, but I have enjoyed every minute of it,” he says. “Being called up for a World Cup squad is an unbelievable feeling. To be recognised as one of the best players in England and be given a chance at 22 is a real honour. I’m excited and I definitely feel ready. We’re all excited actually. We have a young team and we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but we are going to the World Cup to try to win it. We have to have that attitude. We know the quality we have in the squad and we feel anything is possible.”

Times have changed, clearly. Starting all over again with a young squad at least affords the chance to lose the baggage of the past and play with a fresh attitude. No one embodies that idea better than Alli, who apart from being one of the country’s most talented footballers is almost as proud of his prowess at PlayStation games. “I am the best Fortnite player, I’ve won over 100 games, but a lot of the boys have only just started playing it,” he says.

It does not seem that long ago since footballers were being discouraged from spending too much spare time on computer games, though Fortnite, in particular, is a survival game that can be played by a team, and the whole world will be at it in Russia in the coming weeks, as will be evidenced by some baroque goal celebrations.

“You need something to lighten the mood when you are away for four weeks,” Alli says. “You need to relax and rest your body and PlayStation is a great way to do that. We’ve been playing Fortnite since we started on this trip and we play in teams so it actually brings us together. It’s not a solitary activity any more.”

Last season Mauricio Pochettino described Alli as the best 21‑year‑old in the world, praise the Tottenham manager clearly believes the player can handle. He appears to be right. “Hopefully he said that because he believes it,” Alli says. “I didn’t feel any extra pressure because of what he said. I know I have to keep my feet on the ground. Football is all about opinions and you hear plenty of negative ones. So, if someone comes along with a compliment, I’ll happily take it.

“For me, personally, the manager is a big reason why I signed for Spurs. He’s not afraid to play youngsters. He’s not going to hang you out to dry but he’ll play you when the time is right and he’s not scared to put all his trust in you. For a young player, having a manager who trusts you more than you trust yourself is a real confidence booster.

“Mauricio Pochettino brought the best out of all the young English players he’s had, whether at Spurs or Southampton. I know he’s helped me, Harry Winks, Kyle Walker‑Peters, even Harry [Kane] and Eric [Dier]. Everyone trusts him and he’s a pleasure to work with. I feel I’m in a great place where I can come into training every day with people who feel like family.”





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Alli joined the MK Dons youth system aged 11, and a career in football beckoned from that point on, but did the schoolboy who used to practise nutmegs on older opponents inside the concrete “cage” of his formative years ever dream of being called up for a World Cup? “Of course you dream of it,” he says. “That’s what schoolboys do. It doesn’t mean you expect it to happen. I once heard the American rapper Russ do an interview about his rise and he said it felt unbelievable and believable at the same time. I can relate to that.

“There are times when I can’t believe I’m going to the World Cup with England but at the same time I know this is what I’ve been working towards the whole time I’ve been playing. It’s what I’ve wanted and what I have been determined to achieve.”

This might be the nearest thing to a fairytale England have at the moment, so one can only wish Alli good luck in Russia and hope he is aware that players of his temperament are often the target of opposition wind-ups in tournaments. “It’s not something I worry about,” he says with a smile, the street footballer in him suddenly returning. “I feel I’ve got everything under control.”