England v Netherlands: Dier hails Tottenham contingent

Omnisports

March 27, 2016 1:19 AM

Eric Dier says "there is no better feeling" than starring for England alongside Tottenham colleagues Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Danny Rose.

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English football is on a high following Saturday's comeback victory over Germany in Berlin, and – ahead of their friendly against Netherlands on Tuesday – Eric Dier has declared his pride at being part of a group of young Tottenham players making a big impact on the international stage.

Dier's stoppage-time header completed a remarkable turnaround for Roy Hodgson's men, who fought back from two goals down to triumph 3-2 over their fierce rivals.

The 22-year-old was one of four Spurs players included in the England starting XI, along with debutant Danny Rose, Dele Alli and fellow goalscorer Harry Kane.

Dier paid tribute to the efforts of his club-mates, but could not resist a dig at Alli's failure to convert a golden opportunity late on.

"There's no better feeling than being able to do it with them," he told FATV. "They deserve it just as much as me – they were brilliant. Harry getting his goal, Dele missing!

"We're a very young squad, we don't stop. I think that's the only attitude you can have, especially when there are players trying to get into the squad for the Euros.

"There's nothing to lose, really. You want to keep going to try to improve yourself. That's what everyone's done. They've kept going until the end and it's fantastic."

The key for Hodgson's side now will be maintaining their momentum against another high-calibre opponent in the form of Netherlands.

Danny Blind's men may not have qualified for Euro 2016, but their vast tournament experience makes them useful opposition as Hodgson looks to whittle down his options ahead of naming his final squad.

"We just want to keep progressing as a team and try to get that consistency," said Jamie Vardy, scorer of England's equaliser against the world champions.

"We've got a game against Holland now on Tuesday that we want to go into and we want to win and keep trying to get better as a team."

Netherlands will be looking to bounce back from a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of France on Friday and they won by the same scoreline on their last trip to the British Isles – a victory over Wales in Cardiff in November.

Oranje also claimed a 3-2 win over England at Wembley back in February 2012.

England will be without Jack Butland after he sustained an ankle injury shortly before Germany's opener, while fellow goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen (broken nose) is also out for Netherlands and Wesley Sneijder's hamstring problem means he is not available.

As happened during Netherlands' clash with France, tributes will be paid to late Dutch legend Johan Cruyff during the 14th minute of the match – a nod to Cruyff's iconic shirt number.

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