Tottenham’s Eric Dier in a hurry for England to take another step towards the World Cup finals

Plan of attack: Eric Dier, in action against Germany’s Lukas Podolski, says England need to be “aggressive and on the front foot” to beat Lithuania
Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images
James Olley24 March 2017

Eric Dier has urged England to waste no time in booking their place for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Gareth Southgate’s side hold a two-point lead at the top of Group F ahead of Sunday’s qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley.

Lithuania are ranked 107 in the world and have won just one of their five matches this season, a 2-0 win over Malta in October. They were also swept aside by England when the teams met in the final Euro 2016 qualifier, in Vilnius.

That 3-0 victory completed a perfect run of 10 consecutive qualifying wins and although England cannot qualify with a flawless record this time, having drawn 0-0 away in Slovenia, Dier is targeting swift progress.

“Every game is massive in qualification and we need to rack up those points as quickly as possible and our main objective is to qualify for the World Cup,” he said.

“So all of our attention is on that and we’ll go into the game fully focused with a clear objective of taking three points and another step closer to that World Cup.

“We need to be aggressive and on the front foot, be decisive and hopefully we’ll have a very good performance, everyone will enjoy themselves and we’ll get a good result.”

Dier earned his 16th cap on Wednesday night as England slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Germany. The 23-year-old Tottenham star has become a regular part of the set-up and is desperate to reach his second major tournament, especially after the collective disappointment of losing against Iceland at the last-16 stage last summer.

In Pictures | Germany vs England | 22/03/2017

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“For me, the Euros were amazing,” Dier told the official matchday programme. “Obviously not in the sense of what ultimately happened for England but on a personal level to be involved and play on that stage, I really enjoyed every minute of it, right until the last one which was unfortunate.

“But the World Cup is one step above that, so after experiencing the Euros, I’d love to experience a World Cup. It’s one of my big objectives to play in the World Cup next year.”

Gary Cahill is suspended for the game, meaning Dier could be asked to play at centre-back having operated in midfield in Dortmund, although Manchester City’s John Stones is more likely to deputise.

Tickets for England vs Lithuania are available from TheFA.com/tickets

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