Gareth Southgate believes Dele Alli will only learn from his mistakes as he misses England's clash with Slovenia next week due to a one match ban.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was named in Southgate’s 26-strong group to take on Slovenia at Wembley and then round off the qualification campaign in Lithuania next Sunday.
But the 21-year-old faces a FIFA suspension over a gesture he made in England’s win over Slovakia at Wembley earlier this month and Southgate expects the former MK Dons youngster will now know better on how to avoid a similar situation in the future.
“I’ve had a good chat with Dele about a lot of different things but the biggest disappointment for him is to miss football," said Southgate.
“So the outshot of all of this is that he recognises the responsibility and it’s important for him and us that he’s available for games which he wants to play.
“He’s a young player, a young man and young people are going to make mistakes – old people make plenty of mistakes.
“For certain, he knows something like what happened that night won’t happen again.”
There’s also another new face among the midfield options, with Manchester City’s Fabian Delph called into the squad for the first time under Southgate’s stewardship.
And after seeing his recent performances for Pep Guardiola’s team, Southgate is hoping the former Leeds United and Aston Villa man can add more competition for places in the middle of the park with the likes of Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Chalobah out injured.
“We think he’s a really good player and he was a very important player for a period under Roy [Hodgson],” explained Southgate.
“He’s been unfortunate with injuries and he’s at a club where chances have been limited.
“But he’s forced his way into their side and he’s playing well. He hasn’t had as many games as we would like but we have a situation in midfield where we need to have more competition for places and more alternatives.
“We think he’s a player who can provide that so we’re looking forward to working with him.”
Tickets for the game with Slovenia at Wembley are still on sale now, with prices from £20 for adults and £10 for kids. Click here for more details or to purchase tickets.
