It was a surprise to most fans when Dier stepped up to take the free-kick right at the edge of the penalty area ahead of Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney, and even more so when he thunder-bolted the ball into the back of the net, leaving the keeper with absolutely no chance of getting even a finger to it. The effort would surely have left Dier’s idol David Beckham himself awestruck.

Also read: Roy Hodgson hits back at Gareth Bale

Speaking to England’s twitter account, Dier admitted that he has been working a lot on his dead-ball ability. “I’ve practiced [free kicks] a lot in training, especially since we (Engand’s squad) met up. I was lucky to take my chance,” the 22-year-old said.

Though he has never taken a set-piece in 65 appearances for his club Tottenham Hotspurs, his dead-ball prowess is well known to people who have worked with the player before his time with the North London club. While playing for Sporting Lisbon, he was known as a free-kick specialist and scored a few stunners from set-pieces, including against main rivals Benfica and Porto. His skills with set-pieces, however, have not been showcased much in the Premier League because of the presence of Christian Eriksen at Spurs.

Dier had earlier revealed that he idolizes David Beckham and keeps a photo of the England legend hugging him at his home, taken when he had met the former England skipper as a kid back during the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. The England International did earn comparisons with his role model on twitter following his free-kick on Saturday but has a long way to go to prove himself.

“England vs Wales more like an English derby”: Dier

England will face Wales on Thursday in a must-win game, and Dier believes that the match will have more intensity than a normal international fixture. “I think it might be a bit less like an international game and a bit more of an English game, especially with the players involved,” the defender turned midfielder said. ”It might be a bit different to all the other games you’ve seen in the tournament, so I think that’s good for the spectators as well. It’s a massive game for them and for us, for many different reasons. Everyone is going to look forward to it.”

A defeat against Wales could see England’s chances of qualifying for the knockout stages in jeopardy as they will have to depend on results elsewhere in spit of a win on the last matchday of their group.

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