Dele Alli: Tottenham talisman fails to deliver with waning England performance

After the showing in Malta that had the fans heading for the doors and more particularly the bars of Valletta after a turgid hour on Friday, England needed to put on a bit of a show.

Alli was among those players who underwhelmed in a big way in Valletta – even though he skilfully set up Tottenham teammate Harry Kane’s opening goal. That the whole team struggled to impose their multi-million pound Premier League calibre on the game did not help the 21 year old.

More worrying though has been the gradual decline into mundanity of the player at international level who is usually so sparky for Tottenham.

Alli burst on to the scene with a goal on his debut against France but before last night had netted only once more in 20 appearances. There had been three assists.

Not terrible but nowhere near the exciting youngster’s record with his club - where he had a hand in as many Premier League goals (40) before turning 21 as Frank Lampard (15), Steven Gerrard (13) and David Beckham (12) combined.

For Tottenham in the league Alli’s record before last night read 30 goals and 16 assists in 73 games. But it was not just the stats - it was the electric, instinctive football he played with Mauricio Pochettino’s high tempo team. For England, too often recently it had been the odd flash of brilliance, but then worrying spells of anonymity.

Of course, international football is harder. Slovakia showed England that after just over two minutes at Wembley last night when Marcus Rashford was robbed and Stanislav Lobotka put them ahead.

Now, the onus was even more on England’s most creative player. Would he, could he, respond? This is a player touted for greatness, a potential Real Madrid star, a man with his sights on playing for the elite in Europe. And at club level certainly, apparently with all the talents needed to do so.

One typically good run onto Jordan Henderson’s pass took Alli behind the Slovakia defence, but an uncharacteristically poor touch let him down.

Then a move into space and a shot deflected wide when he should have done better. England needed that spark back from their Young Pretender.

On Friday night England had been ponderous, predictable. Last night, conscious of the importance of the occasion against their most potent Group F rivals - and at a half empty Wembley - they were all that again, but this time also hampered by nerves.

Alli was at least battling. One well-judged tackle and pass set up Rashford, who shot across the face of goal. And there he was again, dropping back to shut off a counter attack. The trouble was, it was further up the field that he was needed.

Eric Dier’s equaliser seven minutes before half time, when he flicked in Rashford’s corner, settled England down. Suddenly there was a lovely little one touch interchange with Kane, the kind they see so often at White Hart Lane. But it came just a minute before half time. Far, far too long to wait.

England had to be better in the second half, and it started promisingly, as a wriggling Alli run saw his shot blocked. There was more energy from the team as a whole. But there had to be an end product.

Alli was more involved than in Malta - then again he could hardly have been less - but when the chance came, as Kane’s cross-shot rebounded off goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, he was too slow and the ball bounced away off him. The frustration showed as he then fired one well over from too far out. It was sadly typical of his night. Close, but not close enough.

And that frustration exploded as Alli stuck an angry middle finger up after not getting a foul. A gesture he could come to regret if FIFA take any retrospective action.

Rashford’s angled drive dug Southgate’s team out of trouble on the hour. On paper, a successful four days for Southgate - but no one is breaking out the party poppers just yet. With Alli - as with this whole team, more is needed. This is a team just getting by. Alli is a player at this level still in second gear, when he could be away in the fast lane.