Dele Alli reveals he is targeting playing at the 2026 World Cup for England as injured star insists he wants to stay in the Premier League despite Everton contract expiring this summer

Dele Alli has revealed his ambitions to play for England at the 2026 World Cup, despite not featuring in a single game this season for Everton.

The 28-year-old was making his debut on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show covering Chelsea’s 6-0 hammering of Everton when he outlined his plans for a stunning career comeback.

Alli previously starred as an England regular and played at Euro 2016 and the World Cup in Russia two years later, but hasn’t featured since making his 37th international appearance five years ago.

The former Tottenham playmaker has been hampered by injuries in his attempts to get his career back on track at Everton, with his last outing coming over a year ago as he battles with groin and hip complaints.

He previously opened up on his early childhood trauma and the pressures of being a professional player in a powerful interview alongside Gary Neville last year.

Alli previously starred as an England regular and played at Euro 2016 and the World Cup twoyears later

Alli revealed the difficulties of dealing with long-term injuries and outlined his plans to return to the top of football

Alli has now revealed his aims to make England’s squad for the World Cup being staged across Mexico, Canada and the United States where he will be a senior player at the age of 30 and explained he reminds himself every day by having an alarm on his phone.

‘I spoke about it in my interview and don’t want to go over it too much again – but I know my level as a player and what I can get to,’ he said.

‘I know how good I can be when my head is in the right place and I’m feeling good. Obviously I’m disappointed with the injury right now but I’m excited to get playing.

‘It’s hard for me to even watch football. It’s been tough for me, I’d say, this past eight months has been hard to watch.’

‘You know you can set reminders on your phone, I have a reminder at 11 o’clock every day that says, “World Cup 2026”. That’s my aim for now. I think that people will be like, “he hasn’t played in a year” but I don’t care, I know my level,’ added Alli.

‘The only target I have is the World Cup right now. Obviously I’m injured and contracted to Everton and so my mind is just about taking it day by day and making sure my injury is healed and that I’m in the best possible condition after the summer.

‘It’s annoying because I’ll be just fully training as the season ends so it means that I won’t have to rush it,’ he said.

In order to even get a sniff at returning to the England set-up, Alli must first begin performing as a Premier League regular as he previously did during a career-best spell at Tottenham.

Alli’s immediate future at Everton looks uncertain with his contract set to expire in the summer

Alli was previously a regular member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad before being plagued by injuries

His immediate future at Everton looks uncertain with Alli’s contract set to expire in the summer and having only made 13 appearances for the club since joining two years ago.

But, Alli remains confident of staying in the English top-flight, adding: ‘I’m signed to Everton so I think it’d be disrespectful to say anything else while I’m here.

‘They’ve been so amazing with me and I don’t know if it’s off the cards being there next season so I won’t talk about any of that because they’ve been amazing and I don’t know the details of the situation but I want to stay in the Premier League and be at the highest level and playing against the best players.

‘It’s exciting. Some players might panic and think, “I’m out of contract in the summer” but this is a great opportunity to show myself and show what an amazing story it has been and what it’s going to continue to be,’ he said.