I hate international football.
But hey - my New Zealand just managed a draw against (a Haaland-less) Norway, so that’s pretty cool, and we’re now only days away from having Spurs back in our lives again. And you know, all the joy, misery, and general sense of ennui that entails. Isn’t football fun?
But I digress.
The international break rumbled on, and with it, Djed Spence received his second consecutive start for England. He kept a clean sheet as the Three Lions racked up five goals against Latvia, creating one of those via an own goal by way of a wicked delivery into the box. You can take the man out of Spurs, but you can’t take Spurs out of the man. Lucas Bergvall also started for Sweden once more, but struggled, pulled at halftime as Sweden slumped to defeat against Kosovo. The defeat cost manager Jon Dahl Tomasson his job, sacked with Sweden languishing bottom of their World Cup qualifying group. Kevin Danso’s Austria also struggled, losing by a solitary goal to Romania with the center back benched.
The poor results kept coming for Spurs’ internationals: Ben Davies, on his 100th appearance for Wales, was unable to steer the Dragons to an unlikely win over Belgium, with teammate Brennan Johnson making an appearance off the bench. Richarlison’s Brazil also saw defeat, losing in a tightly fought battle 2-3 to Japan, with the Spurs forward again relegated to a substitute cameo. Perhaps the most disappoint appearance though was Yves Bissouma. He returned for Mali in his first minutes this season, before being stretchered off after being on the pitch mere minutes, the victim of a brutal tackle. It’s likely some time before we see him turn out again for Spurs, if at all.
In more positive news, though, Pedro Porro shined once more for Spain, as they defeated Bulgaria 4-0, while Micky van de Ven’s Netherlands beat Finland by the same scoreline. The Dutch center back was deployed instead on the left of the defense, with his Spurs teammate Xavi Simons coming off the bench and assisting the fourth goal late on. The 4-0 scorelines continued, with Pape Matar Sarr’s Senegal too strong for Mauritania, Sarr coming on as a substitute.
The bench was apparently the place to be for Spurs’ internationals, with Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, and Joao Palhinha all placed on the pine, with only Palhinha of those four seeing the pitch as he came on for Portugal as they settled for a 2-2 draw with Hungary. Mohammed Kudus was slightly more selfish, though, refusing to share points as he scored the only goal in Ghana’s victory over Comoros.
A break that started strongly for Spurs’ international contingent perhaps finished on a more sour note for some, namely Yves Bissouma, who must have been aching to get back on the pitch. The rest though will hopefully return in the coming days to N17, as Spurs prep for their return match against Aston Villa; by no means an easy fixture.
I still hate international football.
Spurs International Appearances:
Djed Spence (90 mins, yellow card, clean sheet; 90 mins, clean sheet): England 3-0 Wales (Friendly); Latvia 0-5 England (UEFA World Cup Qualification)
Lucas Bergvall (85 mins; 45 mins): Sweden 0-2 Switzerland; Sweden 0-1 Kosovo - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Kevin Danso (90 mins, assist, clean sheet; unused sub): Austria 10-0 San Marino; Romania 1-0 Austria - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Ben Davies (64 mins; 71 mins, yellow card) & Brennan Johnson (76 mins; 32 mins, sub): England 3-0 Wales (Friendly); Wales 2-4 Belgium (UEFA World Cup Qualification)
Richarlison (11 mins, sub; 15 mins, sub): South Korea 0-5 Brazil; Japan 3-2 Brazil - Friendlies
Yves Bissouma (6 mins, sub): Mali 4-1 Madagascar - CAF World Cup Qualification
Pedro Porro (75 mins, clean sheet, yellow card; 90 mins, clean sheet): Spain 2-0 Georgia; Spain 4-0 Bulgaria - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Micky van de Ven (84 mins, clean sheet; 71 mins, clean sheet) & Xavi Simons (6 mins, sub; 11 mins, assist, sub): Malta 0-4 Netherlands; Netherlands 4-0 Finland - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Pape Matar Sarr (90 mins; 22 mins, sub): South Sudan 0-5 Senegal; Senegal 4-0 Mauritania - CAF World Cup Qualification
Cristian Romero (90 mins, clean sheet; unused sub): Argentina 1-0 Venezuela; Puerto Rico 0-6 Argentina - Friendlies
Guglielmo Vicario (unused sub x2) & Destiny Udogie (unused sub x2): Estonia 1-3 Italy; Italy 3-0 Israel - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Joao Palhinha (unused sub; 28 mins, sub): Portugal 1-0 Ireland; Portugal 2-2 Hungary - UEFA World Cup Qualification
Mohammed Kudus (82 mins, assist; 76 mins, goal): Central African Republic 0-5 Ghana; Ghana 1-0 Comoros - CAF World Cup Qualification