England impressed during the first half of their win against Spain on Monday night
By the break, Gareth Southgate’s men had built up a three-goal lead over La Roja, the Three Lions producing some of their most eye-catching football in recent memory in the process.
One of the game’s other major talking points came prior to Raheem Sterling opening the scoring, as Eric Dier clattered Sergio Ramos with a sliding tackle inside the Spanish penalty area. Though the Tottenham midfielder had taken ball before man, it was a challenge deemed worthy of a yellow card by referee Szymon Marciniak – a decision some felt was harsh.
Though the two players were seen in discussion after the tackle, Dier has now made clear the Real Madrid captain held no grudges after being upended by him. Asked what Ramos had said to him after the tackle, he replied: “Nothing. He just congratulated me.”
“I just think the ball was there to be won and I think I won it. I don’t think it was a foul or a yellow card, really.”
Dier also added that, while respecting their opponents, it is important that England adopt an aggressive approach in their games – citing Ramos as an example of someone who does this consistently.
“It’s important to respect them, but at the same time, once we start the game, it’s every man for himself and we have to put our foot down, put a marker down and be aggressive – still with respect, but we have to be aggressive, be on the front foot and show that nothing is going to intimidate us.”
“That’s just as important as playing good football and all the other aspects. I think Ramos is a great example of that. He does everything so well, but at the same time he puts his foot down and he’s not going to be bullied. We have to be the same way.”
