Eric Dier on his World Cup penalty: “I relished it!”

It’s the moment Eric Dier had millions of England fans on the edge of their seats, many peering through their fingers, perhaps even more with their eyes closed.

It’s the moment that will live with him for the rest of his life, let alone his football career.

It’s the moment a Spurs player re-wrote England's history on the biggest stage and made Spurs fans proud as punch.

England drew 1-1 against Colombia in the last 16 of the World Cup in Moscow on Tuesday 3 July. The match went to a penalty shoot-out.

At approximately 9.30pm, Eric took the slow walk from the halfway line to the penalty spot at the Spartak Stadium. It’s a walk fans had watched many, many times and suffered heartbreak many, many times.

However, this was different. This was a chance to win it.

Eric had watched Spurs team-mates Harry Kane and Kieran Trippier brilliantly convert their penalties. Jordan Pickford had just saved from Carlos Bacca and now it was in Eric’s hands.

The rest is history...

"I quite enjoyed it," smiled a typically modest Eric before joining up again with the Three Lions for their UEFA Nations League opener against Spain (Saturday, Wembley, 7.45pm) and friendly against Switzerland (KP Stadium, Leicester, Tuesday 7.45pm).

"I enjoyed the challenge and enjoyed having that moment in my hands. Actually, I relished it!

"I was very nervous when we were standing in a line on halfway. I spoke to Harry afterwards and his feeling was the same. I was very nervous at that point but once I made the walk and I was standing in front of the ball, I was actually very calm.

"I enjoyed that, relished it. I really enjoy those kind of moments in football and being part of them. I might have been a bit more nervous if I was watching it!"

Eric planted his spot kick to David Opsina's right and tucked it away into the corner. Cue joyful scenes both on the pitch and back home. Forget Italia 90, France 98 and Germany 06 - England had finally won a penalty shoot-out at the World Cup for the first time.

Already capped 32 times and a proud captain for the group match against Belgium at the World Cup, Eric hasn’t had much time to linger on that special night in Moscow.

England’s wonderful journey in the tournament finally ended at the semi-final stage at the hands of Croatia on 11 July. Having played the third/fourth place game against Belgium on 14 July, Eric, his England team-mates and another four Spurs players – including winner Hugo Lloris – stayed until the end of the tournament. Three weeks later, he walked through the doors at Hotspur Way to start preparations for the 2018/19 season. Five days later, he lined-up for our opening-day win at Newcastle.

"Football moves on quickly!" he added. "I feel great and the credit has to go to the coaching staff, the fitness staff and the manager. They got it spot on in terms of our time off and schedule coming back from the World Cup. That gave us the opportunity to be in the best possible shape.

"That penalty was obviously a fantastic moment for myself, for my family and for everyone who has helped me along the way, including everyone at Tottenham. It was a fantastic time at the World Cup but as I said, football moves so quickly, you can’t just sit around thinking about the past."