believes the impact of St George's Park
and the form of Dele Alli could take
England to World Cup success
Dele Alli can match Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine
Zidane by leading England to European
Championship or World Cup glory, according to
former France manager Gerard Houllier.
Alli's first taste of an international tournament
came last year as England were bundled out of
Euro 2016 in the last 16 by Iceland.
However, Houllier believes the Tottenham star, who
scored 22 goals in 50 club games last term as
Spurs finished second in the Premier League, could
become the Three Lions' key man in years to
come.
Houllier was part of the France set-up from 1988
to 1997 - in which time Les Bleus built a side that
would win the World Cup on home soil in 1998.
And the former Liverpool boss believes The
Football Association's training base St George's
Park offers the perfect platform to build upon, with
Alli set to become its crown jewel.
"To me, St George's Park is a great achievement
and you will see the benefit of that in five or ten
years' time," Houllier told the Express. "We opened
Clairefontaine in 1988 – we won the World Cup in
1998.
"But to win something you need to have a good
team with an outstanding player. France had
Zidane when he was playing. We haven't won
since he stopped.
"Portugal, who with all due respect are a good-to-
average side that work hard, is well-organised and
has a good coach… and have Cristiano Ronaldo.
That makes a difference.
"For France, Dimitri Payet was not exceptional
enough last summer. Maybe in the future we will
have Antoine Griezmann.
"Look at the teams that win. Argentina with Diego
Maradona. Portugal with Ronaldo. France with
Zidane… you need a player like that.
"Even the Champions League final, Juventus and
Real Madrid. Who won? The team that had
Ronaldo. It is a collective sport where the
individual makes the difference.
"You need to have a top, top outstanding player
and Alli can be that for England. He is still young,
but he is something special.
"England are on the right track. They are
developing proper coaches and proper players at
some point it will pay off.
"But it will only pay off if they find that bright spark
who makes it all happen."
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