Sky Sports pundit Tony Cascarino has hailed Dele Alli for striking up an immediate and “remarkable” rapport with Jadon Sancho and Ben Chilwell on the left flank for England.
The trio all made strong impressions for Gareth Southgate’s side as they cruised to a 3-0 win against USA at Wembley in Thursday night’s friendly international.
Sky Sports Daily contributor and former Republic of Ireland striker Cascarino gave an upbeat verdict as he assessed the contribution of Borussia Dortmund winger Sancho on his first England start.
“The way he linked up with the likes of Ben Chilwell and Dele Alli on the left-hand side was remarkable, given that they would only have had the chance to develop an understanding in training,” Cascarino told the Times.
“Sancho is great in small spaces, and those passing triangles helped to set up a few chances against the US. Although he loves to perform his tricks, he is excellent at the simple tasks, finding team-mates if they are well positioned.
“His passing is neat and tidy; everything is short and sweet. England do need to play an attacking game for him to shine, giving him plenty of support up front.”
OPINION
As Southgate pointed out afterwards, Alli was at the heart of much of the one-touch, two-touch football played by England in and around the box as they blew their American visitors away in the first half at Wembley. Handed a role on the left of England’s midfield three, deeper than where he was used by England in the World Cup, Alli was close to left-back Chilwell and left-sided attacker Sancho in England’s 4-3-3 formation. That they struck up such an instant rapport following just a few days of training demonstrates their calibre and sharp football brains. Alli has suffered from hamstring problems this season in what has been an enduring theme involving many of Spurs’ World Cup stars, but he has showed signs over the last few matches that he is close to recapturing his stellar form of this time a year ago when he memorably put Real Madrid to the sword in the white jersey of his club.