Alli promises to keep a cool head in Russia

Dele Alli admitted he “made mistakes” earlier in his career as he promised to remain focused and disciplined during England’s World Cup finals campaign.

The tournament arrives less than a year since the Tottenham midfielder was captured on camera making an offensive gesture during England’s World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia – an incident that earned him a £3,800 fine and a one-match ban.

Alli had a reputation for being one of the more hot-headed members of Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs squad, but he says he has learned from his mistakes.

“I’ll just be myself, the way I always am,” the 22-year-old told The Telegraph. “I want to play with passion and I want to play with hunger in every game I play.

“I’ve made mistakes in the earlier part of my career, but you have to make mistakes in order to learn from them. And if you look at my record I’ve definitely learned from my mistakes.