I hate international football.
But by all accounts, Spurs’ representatives have escaped any grievous bodily harm, and we’re only days away from having our beloved Spurs back again. Some of them even had a bit of a rest! So that’s nice at least. And though he’s not at Spurs anymore, nice to see Sonny in the goals too (sorry, not sorry American readers - at least you can share my pain as I sit here in the bottom corner of the world supporting New Zealand).
As cynical as I am in regards to international football, however, you can’t help but feel at least a morsel of joy and pride in seeing Djed Spence making his debut for England. After not seeing the pitch against Andorra, England’s first Muslim international played 21 minutes off the bench as the Three Lions demolished Serbia 5-0. It was a similar success story for Spurs’ other international fullback, Pedro Porro, as well: Spain tore Turkey to shreds 6-0 while Porro went the distance.
Spurs’ other defensive internationals in Europe had a bit more of a mixed time. Kevin Danso again came off the bench, albeit in a 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Ben Davies and Micky van de Ven had differing destinies, as Wales fell to Canada but Netherlands squeaked by Lithuania. Their respective attacking compatriots, Brennan Johnson and Xavi Simons, were relegated to bench duty. Guglielmo Vicario also remained in a bench role for Italy, in a stonker of a match against Israel, while Spurs’ two European midfielders in the form of Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall saw limited gametime: Lucas, none whatsoever as Sweden lost to Kosovo, while Palhinha came on late to see out Portugal’s win over Hungary.
Spurs winger Mohammed Kudus played 80 minutes in Ghana’s win over Mali, but it was one of Spurs’ midfielders who was on the scoresheet instead as the African nations competed. Pape Matar Sarr’s goalscoring form showed no sign of slowing down as he added another to his growing international haul, coming on late to score the winner for Senegal against Democratic Republic of the Congo in a five-goal thriller.
Lastly, it was over to South America, from whence Cristian Romero returned early as his yellow card in the first fixture of the break meant he was suspended from Argentina’s loss to Ecuador. Richarlison, conversely, returned to the starting XI for Brazil for the first time in some time. Unfortunately, he was unable to inspire the Selecao to a win, Brazil losing to Bolivia, while Rodrigo Bentancur had slightly better luck: 90 minutes in a nil-all draw.
And with that, we’re only days away from what is sure to be a very annoying match against a motivated West Ham side. It’s the sort of thing you live for, isn’t it?
I still hate international football.
Spurs International Appearances:
Djed Spence (unused sub; 21 mins, sub, clean sheet): England 2-0 Andorra; Serbia 0-5 England - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Pedro Porro (62 mins, clean sheet; 90 mins, clean sheet): Bulgaria 0-3 Spain; Turkey 0-6 Spain - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Kevin Danso (20 mins, sub, clean sheet; 12 mins, sub): Austria 1-0 Cyprus; Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-2 Austria - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Ben Davies (90 mins, clean sheet; 90 mins) & Brennan Johnson (65 mins, unused sub): Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales; Wales 0-1 Canada - UEFA World Cup Qualification / International Friendly
Micky van de Ven (90 mins; 28 mins, sub) & Xavi Simons (79 mins; unused sub): Netherlands 1-1 Poland; Lithuania 2-3 Netherlands - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Guglielmo Vicario (unused sub x2): Italy 5-0 Estonia; Israel 4-5 Italy - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Lucas Bergvall (unused sub x2): Slovenia 2-2 Sweden; Kosovo 2-0 Sweden - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Joao Palhinha (11 mins, sub; 11 mins, yellow card, sub): Armenia 0-5 Portugal; Hungary 2-3 Portugal - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Mohammed Kudus (86 mins, assist; 80 mins): Chad 1-1 Ghana; Ghana 1-0 Mali - CAF World Cup Qualification
Pape Matar Sarr (73 mins, goal; 13 mins, goal, sub): Senegal 2-0 Sudan; DR Congo 2-3 Senegal - CAF World Cup Qualification
Cristian Romero (90 mins, clean sheet, yellow card): Argentina 3-0 Venezuela - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification
Rodrigo Bentancur (90 mins, yellow card; 90 mins): Uruguay 3-0 Peru; Chile 0-0 Uruguay - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification
Richarlison (11 mins, sub; 61 mins): Brazil 3-0 Chile; Bolivia 1-0 Brazil - CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification