Tottenham Hotspur will have 10 players competing at this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. That figure could increase if Marcos Senesi, who will join Spurs on a four-year deal when his contract with Bournemouth expires at the end of June, is a late addition to Argentina’s squad following an injury to Leonardo Balerdi. Spurs have also made two offers for Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke but are yet to agree a fee for the defender, who is part of the Netherlands squad for the tournament.
Some of Tottenham’s players are due to face each other during the competition. Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur could feature for Spain and Uruguay respectively in an exciting climax to Group H on June 27.
There are lots of other Spurs storylines to keep an eye on. The Athletic has picked out the best ones.
A taste of Robertson’s leadership
Spurs confirmed the signing of Andy Robertson last week but he will not officially join them until his contract with Liverpool expires at the end of this month. For the next few weeks, the defender will be focused on captaining Scotland at their first World Cup since 1998.
Robertson only started 11 games in the Premier League last season but he is crucial to Scotland. The 32-year-old started all of their qualifying games and assisted Scott McTominay’s late winner against Belarus.
One of the reasons Spurs signed Robertson, and initially tried to make the deal happen in January, is his leadership skills. The left-back has already given a good example of that before a ball has even been kicked in this tournament. He wrote a letter and gave a gift to every single member of Scotland’s squad before their opening game against Haiti.
Robertson also has the perfect opportunity to show Spurs fans that he is still a quality player in group stage games against Morocco and Brazil, in which he will relish the challenge of battling with Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz and Barcelona winger Raphinha respectively.
A proper look at Vuskovic
The secret is out when it comes to Luka Vuskovic. The centre-back scored six goals in 28 appearances for Hamburg last season, including towering headers and clever backheel flicks. He has also shown an aptitude for crunching tackles and elegantly dribbling his way out of trouble.
The teenager held his own against Harry Kane in a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich earlier this year and will be reunited with the former Spurs striker in Croatia’s opening game against England. Vuskovic will be teaming up with ex-Spurs midfielder Luka Modric to bring England down in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
This tournament will be the biggest test yet of Vuskovic’s ability. He has started four of Croatia’s last five games in all competitions, including their warm-up friendly against Belgium at the beginning of June. Spurs want to sign Van Hecke but head coach Roberto De Zerbi would find it difficult to ignore and overlook Vuskovic if he excels for Croatia.
Danso vs Messi
Austria are making their first appearance at a World Cup in 28 years and they face the daunting prospect of taking on the holders Argentina in their second group game. Kevin Danso is not guaranteed to start at centre-back because head coach Ralf Rangnick alternates between him, captain David Alaba and Phillip Lienhart. If Danso is named on the bench, he can still expect to be involved at some point in Austria’s efforts to limit the influence of Lionel Messi.
Argentina powered through the South American qualifying group, finishing top after taking 38 points from 18 games. They scored 31 goals and only conceded 10 times. Avoiding defeat against the world champions could be key to Austria progressing to the next round.
Messi is not the only man Danso needs to stop. The majority of Danso’s game time for Spurs has come when first-choice centre-back Cristian Romero has been injured or suspended. This will be one of the rare occasions where they share the pitch together and it will be fascinating to see who emerges on top. There is a strong chance we will even see them marking each other at set pieces.
A chance for Sarr and Bergvall to prove themselves
Lucas Bergvall was the breakout star of Tottenham’s 2024-25 season while Pape Matar Sarr was Thomas Frank’s favourite pupil for a brief period. Yet both have barely played over the last six months. Bergvall underwent ankle surgery in January which forced him to miss 10 games and Sarr struggled with a shoulder problem. They both regained fitness towards the end of the season but fell behind Joao Palhinha, Conor Gallagher and Bentancur in the pecking order. The World Cup offers Sarr and Bergvall an opportunity to restore their confidence.
Sarr made one appearance at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal’s final group game when qualification for the knockout stage had already been secured. He is probably the fifth-choice central midfielder behind Idrissa Gueye, Pape Gueye, Habib Diarra and Lamine Camara. He faces extra competition from Bayern Munich’s 18-year-old wildcard Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. Sarr turns 24 in September and a couple of positive cameos could be exactly what he needs to prove to De Zerbi he deserves more opportunities. It could also raise interest in him from other clubs.
Bergvall is part of a talented Sweden squad led by former Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea and West Ham United head coach Graham Potter. The 20-year-old will probably have to settle for a place on the bench but he has featured in six of their last eight games (he missed two fixtures through concussion). Bergvall has been used in a variety of midfield positions during his two-year spell in north London and it will be interesting to see where Potter plays him.
Bergvall could come up against at least one, if not two, of his Spurs team-mates in Sweden’s final group stage game against the Netherlands…
Van Hecke and Van de Ven in the same defence
Throughout the second half of the 2010s, Spurs had a rugged but composed defensive partnership of two Belgian internationals in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. If things go to plan, they could have a Dutch duo at the heart of their defence next season. Spurs have been interested in Van Hecke for a long time and are trying to secure his services before the Netherlands’ first World Cup game against Japan on Sunday.
Injuries to Jurrien Timber and Matthijs de Ligt mean Van Hecke will probably line up at centre-back with Virgil van Dijk and Spurs’ vice-captain Micky van de Ven will start at left-back. Van Hecke’s passing range is excellent, just like Romero’s, while Van de Ven’s ability to surge forward with the ball is unique amongst centre-backs. The problem with the Romero and Van de Ven partnership is that they have not played alongside each other consistently over the last two seasons due to injuries and suspension. Van Hecke would hopefully be a calmer presence and push Van de Ven to new heights.
Xavi Simons should be the third member of Spurs’ Dutch contingent, but in April he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee, ruling him out of the World Cup.
Will Spence and Porro be first-choice?
Djed Spence is not Tottenham’s first-choice left-back but he has a good chance of playing regularly for England during this tournament. Head coach Thomas Tuchel has been full of praise for the 25-year-old’s ability in one-v-one situations. If England progress deep into the tournament, Spence might be preferred to Nico O’Reilly and Tino Livramento.
Spence demonstrated in August’s Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain that he relishes taking on the world’s best wingers as he superbly handled former Rennes team-mate Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi. There are question marks over Spence’s delivery in the final third but he assisted Kane’s winner in England’s friendly against New Zealand.
Porro has a great opportunity to establish himself as Spain’s right-back. Dani Carvajal has been in control of the position for nearly a decade but was left out of the squad. Atletico Madrid’s Marcos Llorente can play there but Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente might prefer his energy in central midfield to complement Rodri, Pedri or Fabian Ruiz.
A third successive World Cup winner…?
At the 2018 World Cup, Hugo Lloris lifted the trophy with France despite making an error which directly led to Mario Mandzukic scoring for Croatia in the final. Four years later, Lloris was back on the biggest stage. But France couldn’t retain the trophy and Lloris had to watch team-mate Romero celebrating after Argentina won a wild game via a penalty shootout.
Romero started six of Argentina’s games at that tournament. He forged a solid partnership with Nicolas Otamendi which will be revived for this edition unless head coach Lionel Scaloni opts for Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez instead.
Argentina will be one of the favourites to win this World Cup but other members of Spurs’ squad will believe they could be victorious at MetLife Stadium on July 19. Porro was not part of the squad when Spain won the European Championship two years ago but many of the same players have been called up again.
Spence is making his major tournament debut for an England side who reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals under former boss Gareth Southgate. Senegal have arguably been the strongest African side over the last five years and have a lot of quality options. The Netherlands’ attack is weaker than their biggest rivals but they boast one of the best defences.
It is time to find out who will follow in Lloris and Romero’s footsteps.