Dele Alli pushed to the limit on spin bike as he steps up comeback ahead of WC last-16

Dele Alli continued his bid to return to England's starting XI as he hit the bikes with his team-mates ahead of their World Cup last-16 clash with Colombia.

Tottenham midfielder Alli sat out England's final two group games - a 6-1 thrashing of Panama on Sunday and a 1-0 defeat by Belgium on Thursday - with a thigh injury suffered in their opening victory over Tunisia over a week ago.

Gareth Southgate opted to rest Alli against Roberto Martinez's group G winners despite his improved fitness, but the 22-year-old looked back to his best on Friday as he was tested to the max on spin bikes.

Alli, Jesse Lingard - one of the Spurs man's rivals to start against Colombia on Tuesday - and Danny Welbeck competed against each other in a high-intensity race as they returned to their Repino training base.

The England trio were filmed by the national side's official Twitter account as they put the pedal to the metal on their bikes. And it would seem Alli came out on top against his Three Lions team-mates.

As he sought to beat his colleagues, Kyle Walker comes into the frame to push his former Spurs team-mate on as he shouts: 'Go on Del, you're in the lead!'

Later in the day, Lingard took to Instagram and appeared to mock Raheem Sterling for his dress sense. The Manchester City forward featured on his club rival's Instagram story wearing a pair of red trousers, a look Lingard had only one word for: 'wow'.

'@Sterling7 felling himself again,' the Manchester United man also wrote.

The atmosphere in the England camp has been widely reported as a healthy one throughout the tournament in Russia, but that does not mean competition is low. It means quite the opposite in fact.

Competition for places in Southgate's starting XI is intense to say the least, right from Jordan Pickford in goal and through the entire team, with Golden Boot-chasing Harry Kane one of the few guaranteed starters.

Alli's absence provided opportunities for the Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has looked assured the English midfielder in his two appearances in Russia, as well as Fabian Delph.

After finishing second in their group, Southgate's men have received arguably the 'easier' draw with a somewhat simpler route to the final, however, Colombia will provide tough and stubborn opposition in Moscow on Tuesday night.

The England boss made eight changes for the Belgium defeat, however, is expected to return to his preferred line-up employed for their first two games, with Alli hoping he has done enough to prove he is fit and ready to return to the big stage.