Dele Alli
Soccer player Dele Alli (28, Besiktas), who broke through the tunnel of darkness, challenges to participate in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
In an interview with Sky Sports on the 15th (local time), Ali said, “Every morning at 11 a.m., a notification pops up on my phone saying ‘2026 World Cup’. People may say, ‘You haven’t played in a year,’ but participating in the World Cup is “I know what my level is,” he said.
Alli was once called the ‘hope of English football’. He decorated the field with flexible dribbling, ball touch, and creative passing.
He once showed good chemistry with Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur and toured the English Premier League (EPL) stage.
In October 2015, he was selected for the England national team for the first time and also participated in the 2018 Russia World Cup.
However, starting from the 2018-2019 season when he was in his early 20s, his skills began to decline and ‘mental problems’ began to be pointed out.
Even after moving to England’s Everton and Turkey’s Besiktas (on loan), he failed to show signs of rebound.
The last time Ali played was in February of last year. Hip and groin injuries occurred one after another.
Ali, who seemed to remain a ‘problem child whose soccer talent was ruined’, shocked people by revealing his unfortunate past, including the experience of being sexually abused at the age of six, in an interview in July of last year.
He also revealed that he suffered from addiction to sleeping pills and mental health problems due to his dark childhood, and that he received rehabilitation treatment in the United States for six weeks.
Ali is now trying to end this dark time and return to the sunny field.
Alli told Sky Sports: “The injury problem has just come to an end. I just hope it heals well and there is light at the end of the dark tunnel.”
Alli remains under contract with Everton until this summer.
He plans to fully return to team training by the end of this season and continue his challenge to become a top-level player again.
At the end of it all is the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. The last time Alli was selected for the England national team was in 2019.
“It was a long journey with many ups and downs, injuries that required patience,” Ali said. “It helped me grow as a person. I think the pain gave me the opportunity to grow myself even more.” 스포츠토토