If any player in the current England squad has even the slightest bone to pick with Gareth Southgate, it might be Eric Dier.
The Tottenham Hotspur defender has won his place back now, coming in from the cold just in time for a World Cup in scorching temperatures, but he was overlooked for the last major international tournament. Before his return to the set-up in September, Dier’s most recent call-up had come 18 months earlier, not long before the run to the Euro 2020 final that he watched from the sofa.
