Eric Dier: give Mauricio Pochettino some credit for England's win over Germany

England's 3-2 win over Germany in Berlin on Saturday is still resonating with English football fans today. The four Tottenham players that played in the match, all of them starters, were universally praised for their performance, but Eric Dier, who got the game-winning header in the 91st minute, says that credit should also go to Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino for the way he developed his players.

"We did all get together in the dressing room. It’s great for us five - Walks didn’t get on but for the five of us to be here was amazing.

We have to be thankful for [Pochettino], for being able to put us in this position by giving us a chance at our club and improving us. Us Spurs boys know how lucky we are to have him because he’s been brilliant.

He demands a lot of us, always wanting us to improve. That’s what’s made us able to be in the position we are now so we’re very grateful for him and we want to repay him.

We really enjoyed it and I think all four of us put in good performances. I am really happy for Danny Rose because I think it’s a long time coming. For me, he has been the best left-back in the Premier League this season."

There's no question that Dier, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Danny Rose were all major contributors in England's comeback win. Alli was named Man of the Match, Kane and Dier both scored, and Rose was praised for his performance at left back. In fact, BBC gave the four Hotspurs, along with Leicester's Jamie Vardy, who also scored, the highest player ratings of anyone on the team.

It's not just Dier who credits Pochettino for developing the young English players that are now coming into their own in the national team setup. According to the Guardian, 11 of the last 19 England debutants have at one point or another been managed Pochettino, either at Spurs or Southampton. This list includes Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne, who both started on Saturday, as well as Fraser Forster, who came in for the injured Jack Butland.

Players win international football matches, not club managers, but as Spurs fans, it's incredibly exciting to watch your club's young English core flourish for both club and country. Would Kane, Dier, Rose, Alli, and Kyle Walker this season have made the England squad without the excellent preparation and development provided by Pochettino the past two seasons? Possibly, but it's hard to argue that all of them haven't benefitted dramatically from his tutelage.