He’s not just an expert at waving.
We recently discovered a brilliant fact about Dele Alli’s name that has caused everyone to lose their sh*t.
And rightfully so too.
Before that revelation, I always thought if his name was to have a duel meaning, it would actually be ‘the postman’ – because the Spurs man always delivers.
I’ll grab my waistcoat…
Believe it or not, there is logic behind my awful joke and it’s all to do with the impressive scoring record of Alli in ‘big games.’
How we actually define a big game is one of football’s unwritten rules, sort of like how everyone cheers when the referee falls over. Wahey!
We’re all in agreement however that a big game is one that carries significance importance.
Either through the prism of a local rivalry or the proximity between the teams in the league, a big game is just a big game. It’s difficult to explain, yet everyone understands it.
Alli’s record shows that he understands it better than any of us…
His fascination with turning up when it matters most all started during his first season with Spurs in 2016.
Despite the fact that he was playing for MK Dons in League One just a year earlier, the pressure of the big occasions didn’t faze Alli.
The attacking midfielder scored back-to-back goals against the Manchester clubs, Man United and Man City in 2017, as Spurs had looked like real title contenders.
Alli then continued his impressive record by netting his first goal in a north London derby versus Arsenal in 2017.
Two goals in the Champions League group stages against Real Madrid are also particular standouts from the illustrious list.
Boasting a smattering of goals against Chelsea and Liverpool too, Alli has starred against every one of English football’s famous top five teams.
He had arguably been one of England’s most underwhelming performers at the World Cup before he netted the second against Sweden in the quarter-final.
That goal was the latest and perhaps the pinnacle to date of Alli’s ridiculous record of scoring when it matters most.
He’s a big game player, the very definition of one.
His relatively slow start to the tournament all makes sense now. He was just waiting for the right moment. Duh.
What good would it be scoring the seventh against Panama, when you can net the winner in the World Cup final instead?
So, presumably we can all expect Alli to score in the semi-final against Croatia and then go onto bag the winner in the final?
“We’ve got Alli!”
CATCH UP ON THE LATEST WEIRD AND WONDERFUL NEWS FROM THE 2018 WORLD CUP