Eric Dier is braced for this week’s eagerly anticipated match against Wales to be more akin to a Premier League fixture than an international as England seek to revive their campaign after a wasteful draw in Marseille.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder had forced his side ahead against Russia at Stade Vélodrome, belting in a free-kick from just outside the penalty area to register a second goal at this level, after a winner in Germany, across eight caps. Yet Vasili Berezutski’s stoppage-time equaliser checked the optimism and ensures Roy Hodgson’s side travel to Pas-de-Calais playing catch-up to Wales at the top of the section.
A Wales victory in Lens on Thursday would see Chris Coleman’s side through and leave England fretting over their involvement at the finals. “Obviously there’s a lot to this game,” Dier said.
“I think it might be a bit less like an international game and a bit more of an English game, especially with the players involved. It might be a bit different to all the other games you’ve seen in the tournament, so I think that’s good for the spectators as well. It’s a massive game for them and for us, for many different reasons. Everyone is going to look forward to it.
“The underdogs are always up for it, always wanting to prove a point and that makes it even harder for the favourites. If we are the favourites we need to be even more well-prepared and more ready for it because they’ll be desperate to do their best, after the result they had [against Slovakia] as well.”
Dier was keen to pluck positives from what was, for large periods, a promising display in Marseille with England the dominant force until indecision gripped in stoppage time at the end. The former Sporting defender boasts experience of international tournaments having played in the U20s World Cup and reached the semi-final of the U19s European Championship, with no sense of panic having set in after the opening fixture.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to get negative about that first game,” he said. “We’re disappointed that we conceded a late goal but, apart from that, I thought it was definitely the best England performance I’ve played in. I’ve not played in many but I thought it was fantastic. That’s the feeling I got from the response from the fans when the game was going on.
“There are so many positives to take, so I don’t think we should be putting ourselves down. It was an impressive display. That’s what we’ve got to take from it.
“Anyway, it’s gone now, there’s nothing we can do about it. We will just look forward to the next game and work our hardest to do our best against Wales.
“The manager wants players that can do their job and then add something in some other different way. Hopefully I do that and I am happy, but obviously I’d be happier if we won.”
