Even if England beat Croatia at Wembley on Sunday and reach next year’s Nations League finals, it will not be enough for Dele Alli.

The Tottenham midfielder is aiming far higher and has given a revealing insight into the new mentality around the England camp under Gareth Southgate.

“Our aim is to be recognised as the No 1 team in the world. It is going to be a difficult challenge, but we believe in ourselves, and we believe in the talent and the manager we’ve got here,” he says. “I don’t think we really want to put a time limit on it, but as a national team, that is our end goal.

“We genuinely believe we can achieve it, and I think that’s the main thing. We had a good World Cup, reaching the semi-finals, but didn’t win it. There were a lot of positives to take, and we knew it was a massive step for us as a nation as well. But there’s a lot to improve on, and we know it.”

This refreshing, mature approach epitomises the new England under Southgate, and the feel-good factor generated from the World Cup has carried over into this season for Alli.