ERIC DIER shot himself into World Cup folklore with England’s winning penalty in the sudden death shootout with Colombia.
The 24-year-old midfielder scored from the spot after Jordan Pickford denied Carlos Bacca to send England through after the teams had drawn 1-1 after extra time.
‘Well done my son’ – boss Gareth Southgate congratulates England penalty hero Eric DierGetty - Contributor
Gareth Southgate’s men now face Switzerland at the Samara Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Dier was an 81st minute substitute for Dele Alli.
He actually sent a free header wide that would have put the Three Lions 2-0 up and then watched in agony as Colombia snatched a late equaliser.
But how he atoned for his miss.
Dier strikes his sudden death spot kick…Getty - Contributor
… into the Colombian netEPA
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Dier is the grandson of Ted Croker, the former secretary of the FA and president of Cheltenham Town.
He grew up in Gloucestershire and moved with his family to Portugal aged seven.
His mum had been offered a job at the UEFA Euro 2004 championships and afterwards they stayed put.
His parents actually came back to England in 2010 but Dier remained and was based at the Sporting CP academy.
This is what Dier’s teammates thought about his sudden death heroicsGetty Images - Getty
Which team does Dier play for?
Dier signed on as a pro with Sporting CP and in 2014 moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £4million.
So far he has made 172 stars in all competitions for Spurs and scored eight goals.
Roy Hodgson gave Dier his first England start against Spain in 2015.
Just as it happened against Colombia he came on as substitute for Tottenham teammate Alli.
Last November he captained England against Germany at Wembley.
No. In fact, those seven goals for Tottenham all stemmed from regular play – three headers, three right-footed shots and one with the left.
His Tottenham shooting accuracy is 24 per cent… but he managed to hit one right where he wanted to when it mattered most in Moscow on Tuesday night.
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