Gary Lineker believes that Tottenham Hotspur’s young English triumvirate, Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Eric Dier, have a “real chance . . . of establishing themselves as internationals for years to come” if they avoid injury and maintain their form. They would help England to emerge from what Lineker calls “the Dark Ages”.

“I took a bit of a punt at the beginning of the season, saying Alli might break into the England squad at the Euros, and then he started playing really well,” says Lineker, the former Spurs player. “Now I don’t think it’s a question of whether he will be in the squad, it’s whether he will be in the team.” Alli, who joined Spurs for £5 million from Milton Keynes Dons last