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Peter Crouch returned to the pitch on Sunday six years after retiring as a striker as he tried his hand at American football.

US teams Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings faced off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in London, to a packed crowd.

Former England footballer Peter, 44, warmed up the crowd before attempting attempted a 25-yard field goal as he had a go at a different sport.

However while his effort achieved an impressive distance, Peter's shot went wide in a disappointment for the former striker - who played for England at two World Cups.

For the game, Peter wore a customised NFL jersey sponsored by Paddy Power, as well well as a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

The clash between the two US American football teams is the 40th NFL regular season game to take place in London.

London will play host to two more NFL games over the coming weeks with New York Jets taking on Denver Broncos next Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Jacksonville Jaguars face Los Angeles Rams on October 19 at Wembley.

Peter's NFL attempt comes weeks after he hilariously led out non-league side Farnham Town for their game as a forfeit for coming bottom of his fantasy league last season.

Throughout his playing career the towering striker has walked out onto some of the most hallowed grounds in all of world football.

However last month, Peter made his return to the pitch in decidedly different surroundings at the 2500 capacity Memorial Ground in Surrey.

Donning the club's home colours, the former Liverpool and Spurs striker was led out as a mascot for the club's Southern League Premier Division South clash with fellow promotion-chasers Sholing.

His arrival on the pitch was cheered on by his That Peter Crouch podcast co-hosts Chris Stark and former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell.

Steve shared a number of clips from the game on his social media, including a hilarious video of Peter showing off his mascot's goodybag.

Peter proudly detailed his loot, including a bag of Haribos, some Maryland cookies and a set of Farnham Town badges.

Led onto pitch by Farnham's Jack Dean, 6ft 7in Peter cut an awkward figure as he completely eclipsed the defender from view when the two teams lined up before kick off.

The fun didn't end when the action got underway, however.

Peter also played a central role in the half-time festivities as he tested his mettle as a goalkeeper during a penalty shootout.

In front of a capacity crowd, he also had a chance to win every fan a free drink by hitting the crossbar but narrowly missed from long range.

He also posed for photos with beaming fans who were shocked at the sight of the former Premier League great.

The antics clearly didn't take Paul Johnson's side off their game though, as the newly-promoted side secured a 2-2 draw to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Peter's commitment to the forfeit and willingness to put himself in the hilarious situation earned plaudits among fans on social media.

Fans wrote: 'Can't believe you went through with it, but fair play to you,';

'Cracking afternoon of football ! What a fantastic mascot you were - LOVED you walking out with your player and standing in front of them ! Had me and my son howling in the crowd,';

'Great day today Peter. You definitely put a few hundred on the gate, and you gave the kids a day to remember.'

NFL fans in London were forced to battle through enormous queues and face severe delays following an issue with their OnePass ticketing app at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The American powerhouse sport has made the north London stadium its home in the UK, hosting a number of games at the ground throughout the season.

Kicking off the run of ties in London is a meeting between the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings.

Sunday marks the first time that the two sides have faced one another in capital in nearly 10 years, with their last meeting coming in 2017 at Twickenham.

But fans looking to soak up the atmosphere inside the ground were instead let down amid reported problems with the apps needed to store tickets for the game.

Videos and pictures from outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium showed the approach clogged up with fans not moving as they sought to find a way in before kick-off.

There were also queues at the box office as supporters looked to get to the bottom of the chaos.

'The NFL ticket app gone down - Thousands stranded outside Tottenham Hotspur’s absolute shambles….' one user noted.

'Very disappointing service…. Hope to see the Cleveland #Browns play at some point - hopefully we get a refund from (the NFL) of everything we missed.'

Another captioned a video of trailing queues: 'Hey (Ticketmaster) and (the NFL) your one app sucks. No one can get into the game. Here’s the line at the box office.'

'Absolute s***show today at NFL London,' a third wrote. 'OnePass app is not working for thousands of fans and are in a massive Queue for ticket office.

'Will 100% miss kickoff. Disgraceful.'

'Hey (NFL) waiting in line for over an hour for help because your app is crap,' another continued.

Pictures of the app's malfunction were also widely shared on social media, with some showing that not only the OnePass app, but Ticketmaster itself were also failing to display for users.

Amid the disappointment, NFL London urged fans to check at the gates with their confirmation email, rather than the pass on the app itself, in a bid to reduce delays.

American football will return to the ground the following Sunday, for a clash between New York Jets and Denver Broncos.

Former Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon is in talks to team up with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami.

Reguilon is a free agent after his contract ran out with Spurs in the summer.

The 28-year old left back has been exploring opportunities in England, Europe and Saudi Arabia but is now in discussions with the side co-owned by former England captain David Beckham.

The MLS franchise have a big Latin following with a number of Spanish and South American players including Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez which should suit Spain international Reguilon if talks continue to progress.

Miami beat New England 4-1 on Sunday in a game where they said farewell to former Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets who is retiring at the end of their season.

The MLS regular season concludes on October 18, though Miami have qualified for the playoffs to guarantee additional matches for the 37-year-old.

Miami sit in third place on the Eastern Conference table with 59 points from 32 games.

Tottenham Hotspur became the first team to beat Leeds in a league game at Elland Road in over a year after Mohammed Kudus got the winner in the second-half.

Spurs took the lead through Mathys Tel in the 23rd minute but Noah Okafor levelled for Leeds 11 minutes later and just before the hour mark, Kudus’ strike deflected off Pascal Struijk and past Karl Darlow.

The three points took Thomas Frank’s side to second before Arsenal play later on Saturday, while Leeds are 12th after seven games.

Aadam Patel was at Elland Road to analyse the action...

Frank finally gets his man

With 14 points from seven games and just one defeat across all competitions, Spurs have made a thoroughly impressive start to life under Thomas Frank. ‘Averaging two points per game is very good’ according to the Spurs boss. They did brilliantly to withstand the Leeds pressure in the first half then controlled the game after retaking the lead and at the sixth time of asking, Frank finally defeated Daniel Farke.

This was the kind of game Spurs may have failed to see over the line under Ange Postecoglou and Frank is gradually building that winning mentality. He admitted that his side were working on becoming more street-wise, saying it’s something that was spoken about with the players who are shown clips about what to do.

‘If you want to build a successful team you need mentality and character,’ said Frank. ‘It doesn’t matter if you play like Barcelona - you need that willingness to do everything to win and we’re building that as a team,’ he added. Spurs have won three of their first four away league games this season, which is as many as in their final 13 away league games of last season under Postecoglou.

Fortress Elland Road?

BEFORE the game, Leeds’ Anton Stach said ‘good fans can win you four or five points’ over a season. Leeds have been solid at home with Everton, Newcastle and Bournemouth all failing to win at Elland Road but Spurs battled to a crucial three points here and in doing so, ended Leeds’ 23-game run of going over a year without losing a home league game.

Tottenham also ended a run of their own with what Frank described as a win that he was ‘extremely happy’ with against a ‘good Leeds side’ that were ‘difficult to play against.’ Going into this, Spurs had remarkably lost their last seven matches immediately before an international break - a run that went back to October 2023.

Spurs sharpen the knife

Tottenham went into this game with own goals as their top scorer and that told you enough about the work Frank’s side needed to do in the final third. All eyes were on Mathys Tel as he led the line, with Richarlison on the bench. Tel’s goal did his confidence a world of good even if his strike took a deflection. It was the 20-year-old’s first goal of the season.

Tel nearly got a second when his header hit the crossbar but you could tell from the way Frank urged him to take in the acclaim from the away end after the final whistle that he is a player who needs that backing.

‘It was so so important (for Tel),’ said Frank. ‘I’m almost emotional about him. I’m so happy for him with the character he showed as a young man after he wasn’t named in the Champions League squad.’ A word too for Mohammed Kudus, who was superb. He got his fourth league assist of the season then got the winner with his first goal for Spurs.

Darlow's a keeper

For Leeds, Karl Darlow has been solid in net since Lucas Perri was ruled out with injury and even though Perri has returned to training, it would not be the biggest surprise if Darlow keeps his spot after the international break.

The Welsh keeper was unlucky to be beaten twice here through deflected efforts. As for Spurs, doubts remain over Guglielmo Vicario, who was all over the place from a set-piece early on and arguably should have done better for Leeds’ equaliser but the Italian made a terrific save to deny Dominic Calvert-Lewin when the score was 1-1 and another good stop to deny Joel Piroe in injury time.

Calvert-Lewin haunted by old demons

Daniel Farke named an unchanged side for the third game in succession and that meant another start for Calvert-Lewin up top. He caused Spurs plenty of problems, getting into dangerous positions and playing a part in Leeds’ leveller but crucially failed to take two huge chances. The signs are there of a quality centre-forward but Leeds really need him to start taking these opportunities.

‘It was a good performance,’ said Farke. ‘If he thinks too much and tries to force it, it will never work. He needs to keep bringing himself into good positions.’ With 12 minutes to go, Farke threw on Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe too but Leeds couldn’t get an equaliser.

They can take positives from another competitive display, with Farke believing that his side were better than Spurs but the lack of quality in front of goal is telling.

With 12 minutes to go, Farke threw on Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe too but Leeds couldn’t get an equaliser. They can take positives from another competitive display, with Farke believing that his side were better than Spurs but the lack of quality in front of goal is telling.

MATCH FACTS AND RATINGS

LEEDS (4-3-3): Darlow 6; Bogle 6.5 (Justin 89), Struijk 6, Rodon 6.5, Gudmundsson 6 (Nmecha 79); Longstaff 7, Ampadu 6.5, Stach 6.5 (Tanaka 67, 6); Aaronson 6.5 (Harrison 67, 6), Calvert-Lewin 6.5, Okafor 7 (Piroe 79).

Goals: Okafor 34

Booked: Ampadu, Okafor

Daniel Farke: 6.5

TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Vicario 6.5; Porro 6.5, Romero 6.5, Van de Ven 6.5, Udogie 6.5; Bentancur 6, Palhinha 6.5; Kudus 8 (Johnson 90), Simons 7 (Richarlison 73, 6), Odobert 6.5 (Danso 85); Tel 7.5 (Sarr 73, 6).

Goals: Tel 23, Kudus 57

Bookings: Kudus, Palhinha, Romero

Thomas Frank: 7.5

Referee: Thomas Bramall 7

Attendance: 36,703

Tottenham are among the clubs following Vasco da Gama's young forward Rayan Vitor.

Club scouts have been monitoring his progress in recent months and checked on him again last week when he scored in a 2-0 win over Cruzeiro.

The 19-year-old was a prolific goalscorer throughout his youth and while his strike rate has dropped, he is still making an impact at first team level.

Quick and aggressive, Rayan is tipped for a national call-up to Carlo Ancelotti's senior Brazil squad also.

He has a release clause set at £34million but suitors are hoping he can be prised out for less.

However, competition is building with Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Liverpool, Brighton, Barcelona and Zenit St Petersburg among the clubs who have also been to watch him since the turn of the year.

Tottenham have been looking for a striker as they need depth in that position.

Richarlison was a player Spurs were willing to sell in the summer but has done well under Thomas Frank while Dominic Solanke has undergone ankle surgery and is expected to have clarity on his return date over the next week.

Tottenham also hope to see Radu Dragusin pick up his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury in the next few weeks.

The centre back was wanted by the Romanian national side this month but will continue his rehab with Spurs in the hope he can make a return to full training soon.

It will not go down as a perfect 10. This return to Bodo was far from perfect, but Thomas Frank is up to double figures as Tottenham boss with only one defeat.

Moreover, his team have an appetite for a fightback, not a quality many would attribute to Spurs.

They scrambled back from two down to draw at Brighton, then for a point at home to Wolves and now in the Arctic Circle where they were 2-0 down and outplayed for two thirds of the contest before somehow escaping defeat.

Richy brings up a ton

Richarlison emerged as the closest thing they had to a hero on his 100th Spurs appearance but for most of the night looked lost and isolated up front, as if the burden of leading the line every week was weighing heavily.

It is an ominous sign with Dominic Solanke out recovering from ankle surgery, Randal Kolo Muani now out for four games with a dead leg and Mathys Tel omitted from the Champions League squad.

The Brazilian squandered an early chance after a terrific run by Lucas Bergvall, but to his credit, he does keep going and was in the right place, making a nuisance of himself as the 89th-minute equaliser pinballed in the Bodo net.

Captain Chaos

Micky van de Ven won’t forget this shift as Tottenham captain. His foul on Odin Bjortuft cost Spurs an equaliser when they were trailing 1-0. Rodrigo Bentancur scored but a dubious VAR intervention for Van de Ven’s shirt-pull ruled it out.

Moments later, still seething, a scything tackle to release his pent-up fury was punished with a yellow card, then his sloppy pass back to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario led to Bodo’s second goal.

It was strangely chaotic from a player who has barely put a foot wrong since arriving from Wolfsburg. Here, he lost his composure briefly but went some way towards making amends with a header to pull a goal back, from a brilliant cross by Pedro Porro.

Missed opportunities

Brennan Johnson might feel aggrieved at his peripheral role this season having finished last season as top scorer and Europa League final goal hero, but he did little to prove Frank wrong when restored to his favoured position on the right wing, in Bodo.

Nor did Wilson Odobert on the left flank. It defied the boss’s explanation that his wingers were picked to fit a game plan. Johnson running in behind, arriving in the box and Odobert strong in one-on-one situations.

Spurs improved when the big guns came on, summer signings Mohamed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Palhinha all started on the bench. And they summoned a greater sense of urgency with them on.

Bodo fantastic on plastic

Bodo/Glimt’s prowess on their synthetic pitch is well known. Spurs overcame it in May with strong defensive display and threat on the break. A 3-1 lead from the first leg helped that night because they knew the Norwegians would have to come out and take risks eventually.

When they did, they were able to punish them. But, here, Frank’s team seemed to struggle to find the pace. It didn’t help that the three forwards failed to hold up the ball and carry them out of defence for more than an hour.

In contrast, Bodo set off with confidence, quickly into their rhythm and zipping precise passes to feet and dominating, albeit without creating a clear chance until the penalty in the 33rd minute when Rodrigo Bentancur’s senseless slide belied the frustration creeping into Tottenham’s game.

Slow to make changes

Spurs were lucky not to be more than two down when they launched the fight back. There was the first-half penalty skied high by Kasper Hogh, who also missed from the spot in Bodo’s Champions League opener against Slavia Prague, another sitter fired over from even closer by Sondre Brunstad Fet and scares at the end.

Frank’s team were outplayed in the first half but still resisted making changes at half-time when the game was goalless.

Jens Petter Hauge had fired Bodo ahead before Spurs made a change and had scored a second before the changes started to have an impact.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest scores, team news, and updates as Galatasaray vs Liverpool and Bodo/Glimt vs Tottenham headline the action in the Champions League, with Lewis Steele and Matt Barlow reporting from the grounds.

© Associated Newspapers Ltd

Tottenham have rejected Romania's attempts to call up defensive talisman Radu Dragusin as they try to revive their fading World Cup dream.

Dragusin, out since January with a cruciate knee ligament injury, is close to fitness once again.

Spurs head coach Thomas Frank said in August that he expected him back in contention within 'a couple of months' but also stressed the need for extreme caution on the road back from such a serious injury.

Dragusin, 23, was named last week by Romania boss Mircea Lucescu on a preliminary list of overseas-based players for the two October internationals, a friendly against Moldova followed three days later by a qualifier at home against Austria, the strongest rivals in Group H.

Defeat against Austria will end Romania's hopes of reaching next year's finals if Bosnia-Herzegovina also beat Cyprus. And Lucescu, 80-year-old legend of Romanian football, wanted his strongest central-half to be involved into the camp as a positive presence.

Dragusin became Romania's most expensive player when he snubbed Bayern Munich to joined Tottenham from Genoa in a deal worth up to £26million, in January 2024.

Lucescu envisaged him training with the squad and fuelling morale, perhaps even making a brief cameo appearance from the bench, but only if there was a mutual benefit as part of his recovery programme.

And there isn't. Spurs soon dashed any hopes, making it clear they wanted to keep Dragusin focused on his day-to-day rehabilitation plan, training and building his fitness steadily under the scrutiny of their medical team.

Romania have accepted this and do not intend could force the issue even though FIFA rules entitle them to call-up players.

'I spoke with him,' Lucescu told Fanatik in Romania when asked about Dragusin. 'He was very happy for the national team comeback but I don't think I will call him. Tottenham wasn't so happy to let him come now at the national team.

'He needs one more month to play again. Radu wants to come, but others warned us it is better to let him train with Tottenham now.'

Dragusin has not played since injury in a Europa League tie against Elfsborg in January. He is training regularly but not yet back in the full-contact sessions with the first team. He has not been selected in Tottenham's Champions League squad.

Dominic Solanke has undergone surgery on an ankle problem that has been troubling him for two months.

Solanke missed most of preseason after picking up the injury in a friendly at Reading, the first under new boss Thomas Frank.

The £65million England striker returned to make three appearances from the bench but has not started a game this season and not played for more than a month.

Initially, Spurs tried to treat it with rest and injections but this has failed to solve the issue.

'It's time to make a minor surgery,' said Spurs boss Frank ahead of Tuesday's Champions League tie at Bodo/Glimt.

'We will know more about timeframes after the international break but I don't expect it to be long.'

Randal Kolo Muani, who has missed three games with a dead leg, is not yet training and captain Cristian Romero has not travelled to Norway. Romero's absence is a precaution, according to Frank.

After Wednesday's Champions League clash in Norway, Spurs, who drew 1-1 with Wolves at the weekend, travel to Elland Road on Saturday to take on Leeds United ahead of the international break.

Tottenham have not beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers in six meetings although this equaliser came so late it tasted like victory.

It was scored by Palhinha, a composed and clinical finish, a side-footer hit first time from the edge of the penalty area after Pape Matar Sarr nursed a cross by Mathys Tel his way.

Relief washed around the stadium, but this was an escape for Thomas Frank on a day when he knew three points against a team with none would have lifted Spurs into second.

Until half time Frank’s team sizzled with intent. Then Vitor Pereira made changes and reshuffled, nullifying the chief threats of Mohammed Kudus and Destiny Udogie, and nicked a goal from a corner.

Santiago Bueno scored it, his first for Wolves and they defended their advantage until the fourth minute of stoppage time when Palhinha struck.

It was a cruel twist for Pereira and his players, but they at least have a point on the board.

Tottenham will reflect on missed chances in the first half and an inspired save by Sam Johnstone to deny Kudus after only 15 minutes.

Xavi Simons whipped in a cross from the left and Kudus met it with a header at the back post. Somehow the Wolves ‘keeper threw up a hand and deflected the ball against the bar.

Another fine save further frustrated Kudus, who did find the net only to see it ruled out for offside.

Lucas Bergvall released him with a backheel, but Kudus was clearly offside. The flag went up quickly and it was the correct call.

Simons operated from a position wide on the left, drifting inside to open the channel for Destiny Udogie who charged forward to great effect, overloading Wolves right back Matt Doherty on his return to Spurs.

Bergvall missed his kick in front of goal, unable to complete a swift counterattack led by Udogie and made a far better attempt with a far more difficult chance, a scissor-kick volley from a cross by Kudus which flashed narrowly over.

Wolves hit the woodwork in first half stoppage time when a corner reached Doherty in the deep and he fired against the outside of a post from a tight angle.

Pereira reshuffled at half time, making two substitutions and reverting from a back-four to his more familiar back-three formation.

Jackson Tchatchoua was handed the task of silencing Kudus and made a good job of it, encouraged by the goal soon after the restart.

It was untidy to say the least, a corner met by Jorgen Strand Larsen in the air and Guglielmo Vicario’s save only served to push the ball against Palhinha.

The rebound fell to Santiago Bueno, who forced the chance over the line for his first Wolves goal in two years since joining them from Girona.

Frank changed personnel and took more risks and Wolves threatened on the counter. Vicario’s save from Hugo Bueno kept Spurs in the game and Palhinha rescued them at the death.