The current generation certainly isn't the greatest to ever grace the England national team. In fact, it's the direct predecessor of the supposed 'Golden Generation' who, despite their immense experience, ability and successes at club level, could never quite manoeuvre their way through to the latter stages of major tournaments.

At this point in time, central midfield is probably England's weakest department, lacking a playmaker of true flair and vision and forcing Gareth Southgate to turn to more industrious types. And yet, while he may not be a world-beater, while he may personify those shortcomings in the engine room, Eric Dier is fast-establishing himself as England's Mr. Reliable.

After all, it was the Tottenham man who made it 3-2 in that chaotic friendly with Germany in the build-up to Euro 2016, it was Dier who netted England's first strike at the tournament with an unexpected thunderbolt of a free kick against Russia and it was him again who found a vital goal for the Three Lions last night, bagging a crucial equaliser just before the interval.

In a World Cup qualifier that unexpectedly saw Slovakia go ahead after just three minutes, Dier's equaliser at the end of a very disappointing first half completely changed the complexion of the match, not to mention Southgate's half-time team-talk. From that moment on England grew, increasing their dominance to eventually complete the comeback through Marcus Rashford.

That was by no means Dier's only significant contribution either; he made the most tackles of any player on the pitch, completed 92% of his passes and had the third-most touches of the ball of any England star. Tellingly of his cuteness in the holding role, five fouls resulted in just one yellow card - a small price to pay for the number of counter-attacks stopped.

If England are to upset the odds in Russia next summer, they'll need a deep-lying playmaker to emerge from the woodwork over the course of the 2017/18 season. But for all Dier's shortcomings in that regard, the Tottenham ace has consistently shown in an England shirt the winning mindset, resilience and game-management the Three Lions are often accused of lacking.

https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/PL25(98-99).mp4