England manager Gareth Southgate has praised the Tottenham Hotspur trio of Kieran Trippier, Harry Kane and Dele Alli after they helped the Three Lions beat Nigeria 2-1 in an international friendly clash on Saturday evening.

Southgate was speaking in his post-match press conference. On former Burnley defender Trippier, Southgate said: “His quality on the ball is outstanding.”

“Two set-plays, the one just before the goal, a free-kick bang on the money, then the corner for Gary. Great delivery.

“But also his quality on the ball when he’s in the final third. Ashley Young has played as a winger, and Kieran has outstanding quality.
“That profile in that position is very important.” he concluded.

Southgate also spoke about Dele Alli and Harry Kane. The former Middlesbrough manager said: “He has great standing in the world game now. So that is of relevance.”

“His belief in what’s possible, his belief in being able to score every time he plays… but he’s an unselfish player.

“It wasn’t a case of him taking a shot every time he got the ball. He dropped deep to link, played one fabulous pass through to Dele in the first half, his link play was very good.

“He played in an unselfish manner. That’s the best possible impact you can see, if your centre-forward is playing in that manner.” he concluded.