Antonio Conte believes Eric Dier still has a "great possibility" of going to the World Cup with England despite missing out on the Three Lions squad for their upcoming friendlies. Really catching the eye since his return from injury and strengthening Tottenham's backline as a result, England boss Gareth Southgate elected against calling up the 28-year-old.
Arsenal's Ben White and Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace come in for the fixtures against Switzerland and Ivory Coast, joining Harry Maguire, John Stones, Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady as the centre-backs in the squad. While Dier certainly has time on his side despite the setback as the World Cup doesn't begin until November, his Spurs manager believes he is one of the best defenders in the league.
"Honestly I hope for the players to receive this call up," said the Italian in his pre-match press conference. "He’s working very hard and in this moment he’s one of the best defenders in the league. He has also big space to improve his performance and his quality and to become a stronger and stronger player.
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"In the past, I had the chance to coach the national team and I understand that sometimes you have a plan. At the moment, Southgate is preparing and he has a plan to prepare a squad for the World Cup in December.
"He knows Eric very well and he has not to discover Eric because he was previously in the national team. I’m sure if Eric continues to play this way, he has a great possibility to go to the World Cup because, I repeat, he’s one of the best defenders in this league."
Dier's next chance of making the England squad will come at the end of the season when they take part in the UEFA Nations League. Starting off with away games against Hungary and Germany, the Three Lions will then take on Italy and Hungary at Molineux.
