England sensation Dele Alli is adamant that he will not get too ahead of himself after producing a Man of the Match performance in England’s 2-0 win over France on Tuesday night.
The Milton Keynes-born midfielder has so far seen his still flourishing career blossom exponentially in the last year after securing promotion to the Championship with boyhood club MK Dons before sealing a sensational move to Tottenham that has in turn, accumulated in his first senior start for the national team against France at Wembley Stadium.
And despite only being 19-years-old the midfielder showed a fantastic maturity to control the game as he managed to score his first senior goal with a fantastic strike from 25 yards out to fire the ball past teammate and club captain Hugo Lloris.
However, despite the sensational rise from League 1 to International football in less than six months Alli is eager to remain grounded and is wholly focused on continuing his promising development.
“Obviously to get the goal here at Wembley (was great), but I think it was important that we got the win and thankfully I got the goal,” admitted Alli after the game (Mail Online).
“I think sometimes it can sort of put a downer on it if you don’t get the result you want. First, most importantly, we got the win and then thankfully I got the goal with it.”
Alli also played a pivotal part in the second goal as he started the move that resulted in England’s all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney extending his record to 51 goals as the French national side accepted to play only days after a series of shocking terrorist attacks in Paris that saw 129 innocent lives tragically lost.
“It was important that we showed we are here for them and thinking about what happened,” added Alli after an emotional encounter.
“It was a tragedy. It was an emotional night for both teams and I think it showed before the game.
“But I think it was important that we focused on the game as soon as that whistle went and I thought we played well.”
England manager Roy Hodgson has this year put a lot of faith in a number of new and talented youngsters that have been introduced to the senior squad as he looks to build a strong and competitive squad for next year’s European Championships in France and despite only making his fourth appearance Alli will now be looking to force his way into his manager’s plans.
“I am not going to look too far forward – I’ve still got a lot to learn,” the level-headed youngster said when questioned about next year’s tournament.
“I am just going to go back to my club and keep doing as well as I can and whatever happens, happens.”
However, Alli was eager to give thanks to club manager Mauricio Pochettino who has provided the midfielder with an opportunity to express himself in the first team.
“I think it’s a great thing for the manager, you know? He puts a lot of trust into youngsters and I think it shows,” he said.
“We’re all playing well at the minute at Tottenham and we’re just going to keep focused and keep trying to improve.”
