I hate international football.
But sometimes, just sometimes you need an escape from football, and international football (being barely football itself) can provide that! It’s an escape that those following Tottenham Hotspur desperately need, thanks to *gestures vaguely at everything*
It is not, however, an escape Spurs’ squad need, given many of them have played a LOT of minutes this season and the ongoing injury crisis that has torn the Lilywhites to shreds (to shreds, you say?). Tired legs do not need more
football, and every time Spurs’ players head away on an international break I cross myself, touch wood, throw salt over my shoulder, and spin around three times to try and ward off any bad injury luck.
Those rituals are clearly not working, because 1) the football gods have already repeatedly demonstrated they hate Tottenham Hotspur, and 2) we have more injuries! Mathys Tel received a perhaps surprise call-up to the French squad, but was immediately sent back to North London with a thigh injury; while Pape Matar Sarr saw 10 minutes off the bench for AFCON Winners Senegal (yes, that’s right) against Peru before missing their subsequent match against Gambia with an apparent shoulder injury.
There was better injury news elsewhere, though, as Lucas Bergvall made his long-awaited return to Sweden’s national team, coming off the bench in both of Sweden’s matches as the Blue and Yellow qualified for the World Cup with wins over Ukraine and Poland. Radu Dragusin also continued working his way back to full fitness, albeit with less success on the pitch, as Romania fell to both Turkey and Slovakia, Dragusin starting both fixtures. The loss to Turkey ensured Romania will not compete at the World Cup in summer.
Elsewhere in Europe, Pedro Porro got something resembling a break compared to what he is normally used to, sitting out Spain’s 3-0 win over Serbia before going the distance in their second match, a goalless draw against Egypt. Kevin Danso also got a bit of a rest as well, subbed at half-time as Austria ran out 5-1 winners over Ghana, before reuniting with his old captain Son Heung-min via the bench, as Das Team narrowly defeated Son’s South Korea side as well with coach Ralf Ragnick using the break to experiment somewhat.
He wasn’t the only coach to treat the matches that way, as Thomas Tuchel brought in an expanded squad for England (sans Arsenal players who all picked up mystery injuries) resulting in perhaps surprising call-ups for Djed Spence and Dominic Solanke. Both started the first match, before Solanke came off the bench in the second fixture, neither able to make a significant impact in two disappointing matches against Uruguay and Japan, the former a draw in bizarre circumstances after Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte was shown two yellow cards but somehow not sent off. Randal Kolo Muani was the other Spurs forward seeing international play, keeping a watching brief as France defeated Brazil before featuring off the bench in a win over Colombia.
There was unfortunately little rest for Spurs’ starting center backs. Cristian Romero played the full 90 in both of Argentina’s friendly wins against Mauritania and Zambia, while Micky van de Ven did the same for Netherlands in a win against Norway, before coming on as a half-time substitute against Ecuador following a red card to Denzel Dumfries. Xavi Simons also featured in both of Netherlands’ matches, coming off the bench against Norway before starting against Ecuador but unable to impact either match.
See? Couldn’t it have been worse? It can always get worse.
I still hate international football.
Spurs International Appearances:
- Pape Matar Sarr (10 mins, sub; absent from squad): Senegal 2-0 Peru; Senegal 3-1 Gambia – Friendlies
- Lucas Bergvall (21 mins, yellow card, sub; 13 mins, sub): Ukraine 1-3 Sweden; Sweden 3-2 Poland – UEFA World Cup Qualification
- Radu Dragusin (90 mins; 62 mins): Turkey 1-0 Romania (UEFA World Cup Qualification); Slovakia 2-0 Romania (Friendly)
- Pedro Porro (unused sub; 90 mins, clean sheet): Spain 3-0 Serbia; Spain 0-0 Egypt – Friendlies
- Kevin Danso (45 mins; unused sub): Austria 5-1 Ghana; Austria 1-0 South Korea – Friendlies
- Djed Spence (69 mins [nice]; unused sub) & Dominic Solanke (56 mins; 31 mins, sub): England 1-1 Uruguay; England 0-1 Japan – Friendlies
- Randal Kolo Muani (unused sub; 27 mins, sub): Brazil 1-2 France; Colombia 1-3 France – Friendlies
- Cristian Romero (90mins; 90 mins, clean sheet): Argentina 2-1 Mauritania; Argentina 5-0 Zambia – Friendlies
- Micky van de Ven (90 mins; 45 mins, sub) & Xavi Simons (21 mins, sub; 77 mins): Netherlands 2-1 Norway; Netherlands 1-1 Ecuador – Friendlies
