Eric Dier Has Emerged as England's Most Important Player at Euro 2016

When England manager Roy Hodgson surprisingly decided to make six changes for the final group game against Slovakia on Monday night there was one player who was off-limits: Eric Dier. 

Hodgson’s changes might have been an ill-advised act of self-harm, but he isn’t foolish, and there was never any doubt the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder would be selected for his third consecutive start at Euro 2016.

In the opening two games, Dier proved he was too good, and too important, for England to casually discard, even for one game.

Despite having made his debut as recently as last November and collected only six caps prior to Euro 2016, Dier has quickly made himself central to this England side.

Dier has become undroppable because he has emerged as a unique player for England and performs a role no one else can in the current squad.

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Stationed in front of the back four as a holding midfielder, he has provided them with an extra protective layer and helped England concede only once from open play in the three group-stage games.

It has been noticeable that Dier commits hardly any fouls, for his reading of the game and positioning on the pitch are so impressive.

The 22-year-old has proved to be alert and quick, often smothering opposition attacks before calmly distributing the ball to one of his England team-mates.

The quick and intelligent nature of his passing has even drawn comparisons to Dier’s own childhood idol, Roy Keane, one of the modern era’s greatest midfielders in the same position.

In France, Dier has proved himself to be England’s best holding midfielder since Owen Hargreaves began to succumb to his career-ending injuries, and it can be no coincidence that both developed their games in Europe—in Portugal and Germany, respectively.

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Hargreaves was England’s best player at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, despite being surrounded by Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham, and Dier has performed the same role at Euro 2016.

For this tournament, UEFA has devised what it calls a player barometer, which is fed data and ranks every player, and even that agrees that Dier has so far been England's best performer. He is ranked 14th overall, above the more illustrious names of Paul Pogba and Andres Iniesta.

It should be noted that the player currently ranked second, Gareth Bale, who has scored three goals so far at this tournament, was kept largely quiet against England because Dier was patrolling the areas he likes to run into with his own calm authority.

But banish the thought Dier is simply a spoiler, used by Hodgson to just break up attacks and nullify the opposition, he can also be an inherently attacking player when called upon.

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That much was obvious when he unexpectedly strode forward and scored a wonderful free-kick to give England the lead against Russia in the opening game in Marseille.

In Rooney’s absence for the majority of the game against Slovakia, Dier also helped orchestrate England’s attacks with his perceptive passing, and it was his through balls that provided Daniel Sturridge with two of England’s best chances.

Over the course of the 90 minutes, as noted by BBC Sport, Dier had more shots (five), passes (102) and touches (115) than any other player on the pitch.

All of this should not come as a surprise to anyone who witnessed Dier in action for Tottenham last season, where his performances helped drive the club on to an unlikely title race with Leicester City.

In the last 10 days, Dier has proved to be a quick learner in international football, and if some of his team-mates can replicate his progress, England could still enjoy some success at Euro 2016. 

Dier has stepped up; now it is the others' turn to join him.