Football London

Guglielmo Vicario has been speaking about the importance of set pieces while on duty with Italy, echoing his Tottenham boss Thomas Frank's view on them.

Italy have been facing some problems with defending set pieces in recent games and only just squeezed past Israel 5-4 in their earlier World Cup qualifying encounter under Gennaro Gattuso. Vicario and Destiny Udogie were then unused substitutes for Italy in their next game, a 3-1 win in Estonia on Saturday and the Spurs goalkeeper had spoken about those set piece issues ahead of the game.

"Football requires great concentration now, when attacking and defending. We know that many goals are scored from set plays nowadays, so we have been working on those details to improve,” said the Spurs stopper on the Italy squad.

"Perhaps mentality is the most fundamental thing of all. The lads want to participate, stick together, and we always proved that. This is a group of good guys who care about the Nazionale, and we want to show that to everyone."

Frank is a big promoter of set piece work and took umbrage out in Bodo when it was suggested by a local journalist ahead of the Champions League game in Norway that one player had said it was surprising a team like Tottenham would be so focused on them.

"I personally think that set-pieces are an extremely important part of football. Isn't there a stat that 33 per cent or something like that that all goals are scored from set-pieces?" said Frank. "So I think it's clever to utilise a third of your opportunities to try to score a goal. I'm happy, that's a fine comment. If you think that's a strength of ours, I'm happy with that."

At another later press conference, the Spurs head coach explained about some of the changes he and his set piece coach Andreas Georgson make to set pieces from game to game.

"We have specific principles and also specific routines. No doubt about that. I think it's very important, open play and set-pieces," said the Dane. "It's very important to have those principles in place and then tweak them a little bit towards the opponent, depending on their system, how they defend, let's say corners or wide free kicks. Then we can tweak it a little bit. But we can't change it too much because then we need to be consistent in the messages."

International breaks are normally a worrying time for Premier League managers as they await the return of the majority of their players and pray for no injuries and Thomas Frank will be no different.

Frank had to watch 15 Tottenham players called up for senior international duty with Djed Spence making his first start for England along with call-ups for Micky van de Ven and Xavi Simons for the Netherlands, Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson for Wales, Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie for Italy, Cristian Romero for Argentina, Mohammed Kudus for Ghana, Pedro Porro for Spain, Lucas Bergvall for Sweden, Joao Palhinha for Portugal, Richarlison for Brazil and Pape Matar Sarr for Senegal.

Yves Bissouma is back from a knee injury and joined up with Mali's squad for their second match against Madagascar after some work at Hotspur Way earlier in the break. Frank also has some younger first team players on international duty with a trio of U21 call-ups with Archie Gray with England and Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert on French duty.

Here are five positives from this international break so far for the Spurs head coach:

Kolo Muani return

Spurs welcomed Watford in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hotspur Way on Friday. Watford brought a strong side and duly ran out 2-1 winners on the day against a home team mostly containing young players.

However, this was more about getting some game time into the legs of some players, including summer arrival Randal Kolo Muani. The France international arrived on deadline day in a loan move from PSG and has thus far only made a 13-minute substitute appearance from the bench in the Champions League win against Villarreal.

That's because in a training session soon after, the 26-year-old was involved in a collision with midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, which left him with a dead leg that did not heal quickly and kept him out for the next month. Now Kolo Muani is back in training and played 45 minutes in the behind-closed-doors friendly as he stepped up his fitness.

The other two first team squad members involved were striker Dane Scarlett, who has been playing for the U21s in recent games, as well as goalkeeper Brandon Austin.

Good displays

One benefit to the international break is the confidence boost it can give some players. Spence has plenty of confidence right now but it would have further stoked by his first start for England and a solid showing against Wales.

Porro also continues to be Spain's go-to right back and in the 2-0 win over Georgia, he drew a top drawer save out of Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in the first half before hitting the left-hand post in the second period. Romero also captained Argentina to victory against Venezuela with the winning goal coming from former Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.

Odobert scored twice and Tel once as France beat the Faroe Islands 6-0 to open their European Under-21 Championship qualification campaign with a bang.

Archie Gray and Ashley Phillips, currently on loan at Stoke, also enjoyed a big away win as England U21s beat Moldova 4-0, with the former playing the full 90 minutes and the latter coming on 12 minutes from time.

Lucas Bergvall had the positive of making his first start for Sweden but did miss an open goal as he misconnected with the ball in front of goal in the 2-0 home defeat to Switzerland.

Pape Matar Sarr also started and played the full game as Senegal romped to a 5-0 win in South Sudan to put them on the verge of a World Cup spot.

Helpful minutes

There was also the benefit of much-needed minutes for various Spurs players that Frank will want to get sharp as the fixtures return thick and fast after the break.

Kevin Danso helped make Austrian football history with their 10-0 win over San Marino for his country's biggest-ever victory in international football. The centre-back grabbed an assist with his flick on for Stefan Posch to turn home the fifth goal of the night. Every Austrian outfield player had a goal contribution in the game.

Gray got his 90 minutes as did Tel for France U21s and Odobert was given 63 minutes. Wales internationals Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies, who both needed the minutes, got 75 and 65 if them respectively in the defeat to England. Sarr's 90 minutes will also help top up his legs after his recent return from a thigh problem.

Mikey Moore boost

While this doesn't directly affect Frank in the short-term, he will have been delighted to see teenager Mikey Moore hit a hat-trick and get a smile back on his face.

It was the 18-year-old's first treble for England U19s as they won 4-1 against Belgium in Marbella. He started the game with fellow Spurs youngster Callum Olusesi before the duo were both taken off with 23 minutes of the game remaining.

The hat-trick was much-needed for Moore after a tough time at struggling Rangers. The Glasgow side will have a new manager as the Russell Martin era at the Glasgow club finally came to an end after a disastrous start to the season with Rangers eighth in the Scottish Premiership table with just one win, five draws and a defeat as well as four consecutive European losses.

Danny Rohl and Derek McInnes have both been linked to the Rangers job after Steven Gerrard turned down a potential return to Ibrox. Moore will be hoping a new manager revives his and the team's fortunes and Spurs will be watching closely with a potential January recall if matters do not improve.

Some rest

It's not all about minutes and goals as sometimes it's just good to pause and take a breath after a frantic start to the 2025/26 season. That goes for Frank himself who will have had some days off during this international break.

Some of his Tottenham players will not play the full 180 minutes throughout this fortnight either, which should leave them more refreshed for the mass of Spurs games ahead.

Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie were unused substitutes for Italy in their first game, as was Joao Palhinha for Portugal, while Richarlison came on late for Brazil as they beat former Tottenham captain Son Heung-min's South Korea 5-0 in a friendly in Seoul. Son became South Korea's most-capped player with the game, his 137th appearance surpassing the record he had jointly-held with Cha Bum-kun and his current head coach Hong Myung-bo.

Xavi Simons also came off the bench late on for the Netherlands but Micky van de Ven played 90 minutes as they won 4-0 in Malta.

Rodrigo Bentancur is getting a fortnight off after Marcelo Bielsa named a young Uruguay squad for friendlies in Asia in order to look at some new faces.

Frank will now be looking to see what happens with his other Tottenham players in their second international games in the coming days and keeping his fingers crossed for only more positives.

It's a very different Tottenham Hotspur squad under Thomas Frank nowadays to the one that has been seen in N17 over recent years.

In all 17 first team players have departed the north London club in the past 18 months alone as a huge overhaul has taken place and Ben Davies is the longest serving player at Spurs with those 11 years under his belt. The Welshman is also the last remaining member of the squad from the Champions League final in 2019 still remaining at Tottenham.

It's been a huge turnover of players, but what of those who left N17 in the past 18 months? With Thomas Frank now in charge there were a string of further departures in the summer to add to those who left the previous year.

It's time to take a look at how those 17 players who left the club in the past 18 months have got on after heading out of the Hotspur Way exit doors. Many were big name stars with one a legend of the club, some were among the most expensive players Tottenham have ever bought, while others were long-serving servants of the club.

Let's start with the captain and legend who departed for a new adventure in the USA.

Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min left as a legend following 10 years of service to the north London club, having scored 173 goals and registered 101 assists in 454 appearances. He became the first Asian player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and in May the South Korean star managed to do what so few before him had managed at Spurs in lifting a European trophy as captain of the club.

The 33-year-old told his new head coach that he wanted a new challenge in the summer and duly joined LAFC in an MLS record fee of more than £20million.

There was no doubt Son would star in the USA and he has quickly brought his superstar quality to the MLS stage with eight goals and three assists in his first nine matches.

He also made history on the international stage on Friday by becoming South Korea's most-capped player. Captaining his nation in a home friendly against Richarlison's Brazil, the South Korean star picked up his 137th appearance to surpass the record he had jointly-held with Cha Bum-kun and his current head coach Hong Myung-bo.

Bryan Gil

Bryan Gil left Spurs in the summer after four years at the club but with only 43 appearances and two assists to his name. The Spaniard just never found a place in north London and was loaned out three times over those years.

He enjoyed his final loan spell at Girona and joined the La Liga club permanently for 10million Euros (£8.7million) at the very last moments of deadline day last month.

The 24-year-old had suffered a knee injury towards the end of last season but after a summer of rehabilitation, Gil is back on the pitch and has played in the past five matches for Girona, grabbing an assist last month in the 1-1 draw at Athletic Club in his first and only start of the season so far as he restores his fitness.

Sergio Reguilon

Another Spaniard who exited the club in the summer, Reguilon left at the end of his contract, having made 73 appearances for Spurs, scoring twice and contributing nine assists over his five years at the club since joining from Real Madrid.

That half a decade included an ill-fated loan to Atletico Madrid and then more successful half-season spells at both Manchester United and Brentford with Thomas Frank.

Last season Spurs could not find a move for Reguilon and he ended up playing six times for the club under Ange Postecoglou when needed.

Reguilon is currently without a club after leaving north London but looks set to join Son in the USA with a move to MLS and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

Fraser Forster

The 37-year-old played 34 times for Tottenham over his three seasons at the club and managed eight clean sheets but conceded 54 goals during those games. He made four appearances in the Europa League last season meaning he was sure of a winners' medal after the final in Bilbao.

Forster, an England international with six caps and plenty of experience, is also without a club, which has surprised many, but you wouldn't bet against a club snapping him up soon after to provide experienced back-up to their goalkeepers, especially with the rules on bringing in keepers far more relaxed amid injuries.

Timo Werner

Timo Werner left Spurs after two loan spells and plenty of criticism from the supporters as it just didn't go right for the former Chelsea man.

The 29-year-old played 41 times for the north London club, scoring three goals and providing seven assists which isn't horrendous on paper, but his struggles in front of goal were clear and he played very little part in the second half of his last season at Tottenham, with a hamstring injury and then just being left out by Ange Postecoglou.

Werner has returned to RB Leipzig and despite links with plenty of clubs including the MLS, he remained there through the summer and amid more injury woes has played just one minute of football so far this season in the Bundesliga.

Alfie Whiteman

The long-serving Tottenham academy product departed the club this summer after a decade in the Spurs colours. He made his competitive first team debut in a Europa League win over Ludogorets at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November 2020. Whiteman also had two separate loan spells at Swedish top-flight side Degerfors IF in 2021 and 2022, helping them avoid relegation from the Allsvenskan on both occasions.

The 27-year-old, who has plenty of interests outside football, is without a club currently but has been linked with sides in both England and across the continent so could also pick up a new job as this season goes on.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

It feels like Hojbjerg left Spurs a long time ago, although technically he was only on loan at Marseille and his contract only ended at the north London club in the summer because he joined the Ligue 1 outfit with an obligation to buy that could rise to £17million.

The Dane, who turned 30 this summer, joined Tottenham back in 2020 and played 184 times, scoring 10 goals and providing 17 assists during his four seasons before that loan to France.

He played 32 times for Marseille last season, scoring three times and laying on four assists in a campaign in which the Ligue 1 side finished second behind PSG, albeit 19 points behind PSG. This term the Dane is playing Champions League football and has nine appearances and one goal for his new club.

Some might just wonder what might have happened if he did not have a permanent move lined up because the new Spurs boss Frank worked with Hojbjerg at youth level in the Danish international set-up and might just have had a place for him in his squad.

Tanguy Ndombele

Tanguy Ndombele probably went down as the club's biggest ever flop after arriving from Lyon for a club record fee worth more than £60million in all back in 2019.

The Frenchman played just 91 times over half a decade at the north London outfit before having his contract mutually terminated last summer. Nice signed him on a two-year contract and it was all going reasonably well in the first half of his season back in France with 25 appearances, scoring twice and laying on two assists across 1,407 minutes of football.

Then in March came a sports hernia issue that ended his season prematurely. It looked like good news eventually when the midfielder was pictured in July back in pre-season training with Nice but all was not well and he had to go under the knife in a bid to fix a groin injury. Now 28, Ndombele is yet to return to action after that surgery.

Giovani Lo Celso

Giovani Lo Celso is back on track after some injury issues interrupted his return to Real Betis. At first the 29-year-old Argentine, another high profile expensive signing for Spurs back in 2019, after an initial loan, flew with goals in four consecutive La Liga games - five scored in total across those games.

Injured fragmented the rest of his season, but unlike Ndombele, Lo Celso did contribute in the final months of the season and helped Betis reach the final of the Europa Conference League but another muscle injury suffered the previous week restricted him to just the final five minutes of the 4-1 defeat, having missed the final La Liga game of the season.

In all, Lo Celso started just 15 La Liga games this season, playing 34 times across all competitions with nine goals and three assists.

This campaign has started well though for the Argentine with two goals and two assists in nine matches and he scored the winner for his country in their World Cup qualifier against Venezuela this week.

Emerson Royal

Emerson Royal is back in Brazil with Flamengo after a tough time in Italy with AC Milan. The 26-year-old right-back has mostly been a regular starter and even scored against Juventude last month in a 2-0 win.

A calf problem had kept him out at Milan from the end of January until May after making the move from N17 last summer in a deal worth £12.6million plus add-ons but Emerson had already struggled to impress either the supporters or the media and that injury reportedly scuppered attempts to sell him immediately in the January window after Milan signed Kyle Walker.

Emerson had returned for the final three games of last season, remaining on the bench for them all as Milan lost in the Italian Cup final to Bologna. He had won the Italian Super Cup midway through the campaign though so it was not a fruitless season despite that injury which restricted him to 26 appearances before his move back to Brazil.

Troy Parrott

Troy Parrott is one of the biggest successes among the Tottenham departures in this list. He joined AZ Alkmaar in a £6.7million deal in 2024 with a 20% sell-on clause for the north London side.

The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland international hit 20 goals for the Dutch side last season across 47 matches and came up against his old team Spurs three times in the Europa League, causing them plenty of problems. In that European competition Parrott racked up six goal involvements in 12 games and in the Eredivisie managed 16 goal involvements in 28 games. Parrott ended up as the joint third top scorer in the Dutch flight across the season.

He then stepped up another level at the start of this campaign with 10 goals and two assists in his opening eight matches before a knee injury kept him out for six weeks until he returned last week for Alkmaar from the bench. He will be looking to continue on the goal trail and Tottenham could yet make some money off the Irishman with that sell-on clause.

Oliver Skipp

Oliver Skipp is currently playing in the Championship with Leicester. The now 25-year-old only just managed to surpass the 24 matches he played for Spurs last season with 28 across all competitions for Leicester in his first year there, with just 10 Premier League starts as they got relegated.

Skipp had left Spurs last summer after 18 years at the north London club and more than 100 first team appearances to join up with fellow academy product Harry Winks in a transfer that could eventually bring Tottenham more than £20million plus a sell-on clause.

The problem for Skipp was that while the manager who signed him, Steve Cooper, was keen on the midfielder, Ruud van Nistelrooy seemed less so across the campaign, preferring more physical midfielders as Leicester struggled for wins and were relegated from the Premier League.

Now back in the Championship after his title-winning loan spell at Norwich in the league, new Foxes boss Marti Cifuentes had been using Skipp heavily in the early games of the season but the midfielder has enjoyed fewer minutes in recent weeks.

Ryan Sessegnon

Everyone just wanted to see Ryan Sessegnon playing football again after his years of hamstring injury hell and he's managing that again back at Fulham.

This season he's been a near ever-present for Marco Silva's side at left-back and scored in the Premier League match at Bournemouth before the international break.

Sessegnon made 22 appearances last season, netting four times and providing two assists in his 16 Premier League games for Fulham. One of those goals came against Tottenham in the defeat at Craven Cottage with a well-taken right-footed curling effort that brought no celebration.

"I spent five years at Spurs and I'm grateful for my time there. So that's why I didn't celebrate," the 24-year-old said after that game. "I'm feeling good, sharp and strong. I just want to play a little bit more. When I get the chances I want to prove I can play at this level."

When Tottenham decided not to take up the option of the additional year on his contract last summer, Sessegnon's return to Fulham meant that all of the club's arrivals in that now infamous 2019 window, including Ndombele, Lo Celso and even Jack Clarke went back to their previous side at some point after joining Spurs.

Joe Rodon

Joe Rodon came up against Spurs as a Leeds United player just before the international to complete his journey of sorts away from the club, having helped the Elland Road side to the Championship title and missing only four minutes of football in the entire season in that competition.

After joining permanently as part of the deal that brought Archie Gray in the opposite direction to north London last summer, the Wales international played all 46 matches for the Elland Road outfit in the league and now in he Premier League the 27-year-old has played every single minute in the top flight.

He also scored against Bournemouth like Sessegnon but did so at the end of last month for Leeds.

Japhet Tanganga

For Japhet Tanganga, as it was with Sessegnon, there was a need to continue to show that he was free of the injuries that dogged his years at Tottenham.

Thankfully that was pretty much the case as Tanganga, now 26, played 43 times for Millwall last season, scoring twice, and helped them rise up the table as the season wore on to an eight-place finish.

As with Sessegnon, Spurs did not take up the option last summer to extend Japhet Tanganga's contract by its final year. Instead he signed on a free transfer for Millwall after impressing for the Championship side on loan last season.

This summer though Tanganga made the move to Sheffield United and he has played every minute barring one match he has missed in the Championship so far.

Ivan Perisic

It feels like the Croatian left a long, long time ago, but Ivan Perisic technically stopped being a Tottenham employee last summer, even if he had already joined Hajduk Split the previous January on loan until the end of his contract.

His time at Spurs ended with that torn cruciate ligament and then his return to Croatia with Hajduk went in the wrong direction with the arrival of Gennaro Gattuso as the now 36-year-old's contract was mutually terminated.

That brought a move to another new league in his remarkable career with a switch to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and Perisic bagged 16 goals and 11 assists in 35 matches, including three goals in four Champions League knockout matches, including a goal at the Emirates Stadium.

From the mid-March until the end of the season there were only three games the experienced attacker didn't score in in the Eredivisie.

He's been as useful for the Dutch side this season with six assists and a goal in his first 10 matches of the campaign.

Eric Dier

Similar to Perisic, Eric Dier has been gone from Spurs for longer than 18 months but only officially left last summer after the option in his loan move to Bayern Munich was triggered in the second half of that season.

He wasn't always the first choice at the Bavarian giants in the first half of the season, but still played 28 times, with 21 of those in the Bundesliga as Bayern won the title and him a winner's medal, as he scored two twice and provided one assist.

The 31-year-old played all but four minutes of Bayern's Bundesliga matches from mid-February onwards and started in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Inter, scoring in the game in the San Siro.

In all Dier played 48 matches at Bayern and left as a title winner for a new chapter at Monaco, where he signed a three-year contract.

He has already scored twice for the Ligue 1 side, including against Manchester City in the Champions League, and he will welcome Tottenham this month in the competition.

Tottenham's teenage centre-back Luka Vuskovic will not return to the club in January and instead see out his season-long loan at HSV Hamburg, according to the German side's sporting director.

Vuskovic joined Spurs from Hajduk Split two years ago but could not make the move to the UK at that time due to work permit regulations. The defender was sent out on loan, first to Radomiak in Poland and then Westerlo in Belgium, before he officially joined the Lilywhites this summer.

The 18-year-old impressed Thomas Frank in pre-season but it was ultimately decided he would be best served getting regular first team football elsewhere, mainly due to the quality of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. A deal was struck with Hamburg and the Croatian has quickly become a star there with the team unbeaten with him at the back since his tough debut against Bayern.

Now, with Vuskovic's reputation increasing by the match, HSV Hamburg sporting director Claus Costa has spoken out about the loan deal and the club's intentions. Speaking to Transfermarkt.de, Costa said: "We had very constructive discussions with Tottenham; they’re a top-professional club, judging by the communication with loan manager Andy Scoulding.

“They’re closely monitoring the player, which shows how they assess Luka. Tottenham isn’t interested in weakening us or ruining the loan.

“It’s understandable that they’re trying to protect themselves against possible worst-case scenarios. Otherwise, I don’t want to comment further.

“I believe Tottenham also knows how good the situation here is for Luka. That’s why I hope we never get into a situation where we have to think about anything else.”

It comes after Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic described the young defender as a "huge talent", with Vuskovic named on the bench for his country's 0-0 draw with Czech Republic on Thursday.

"A huge talent, he plays excellently in the Bundesliga, and that’s why he got a chance in the senior national team," he said. "I think he should be with us to feel the atmosphere and what awaits him. With him, Croatia secures its centre-back for the next 10-15 years."

James Maddison and Jordan Henderson caught up for brunch on Friday as the Tottenham star continues his recovery from an ACL injury and the Brentford man represents England on the international stage.

Maddison suffered the injury to his right knee late on in the friendly against Newcastle in South Korea on August 3. The 28-year-old is expected to miss much of the 2025/26 season but is working harder than ever to come back fitter and stronger.

Henderson, meanwhile, is enjoying life at Brentford back in the Premier League and with that has returned to the England camp under Thomas Tuchel. The former Liverpool man came on in the second half of Thursday's 3-0 win over Wales at Wembley Stadium and wore the captain's armband for the 21 minutes he was on the pitch.

Maddison and Henderson are good friends on and off the field and met up for brunch on Friday. Sharing a picture of Henderson eating what looks to be scrambled eggs, sourdough and avocado, Maddison said on Instagram: "Brunch and coffee catch up with the skip."

Henderson shared the image to his own Instagram page with the words: "Always good to catch up with the sheriff."

While Maddison continues his recovery programme, Henderson is preparing to face Latvia in a World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday. Maddison is clearly trying to keep his spirits high through this difficult period and even released a YouTube video on Friday evening showing the first three weeks of his recovery.

On his first visit back to Hotspur Way after his operation, the creative midfielder spoke to his team-mates. Maddison thanked both Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero for sitting with him while he was emotional inside the stadium after the game in Korea.

Spurs captain Romero simply said: "We're family." Bentancur gave Maddison a boost by explaining that his recovery was longer and he needed nine months out because the Uruguayan also damaged the meniscus in his knee, which the England international did not.

When speaking to club doctors, Maddison admitted that he is going to make sure that he is completely ready before coming back, but is hoping to return eight months after the injury which would see him back in April for the Premier League season's final couple of months.

"I've already looked [at the average time out], if it's eight months, six months isn't a question. The stage I'm at now, this needs to be right now," he said. "I'm 28, I'm going to be 29 when I return, I'm in my prime, really. These are my peak years ahead of me. I need to come back and I need to stay fit. So actually I'm not going to be pushing to say 'oh why are you taking so long', sort of thing.

"But if it gets to eight months and we're flying or whatever, if I'm in the right frame, that will allow me to play this season won't it, towards the end."

Lucas Bergvall missed an open goal during Sweden's clash with Switzerland on Friday evening.

The Tottenham Hotspur star has impressed in the Premier League this season under Thomas Frank, with a goal and an assist from six outings. And as a result, the 19-year-old was called up to represent his nation by Jon Dahl Tomasson, as Sweden look to stamp their ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

After holding Slovenia to a 2-2 draw in their opening match of the Qualifiers last month, and suffering a 2-0 loss at the hands of a ten-man Kosovo, the pressure was on for Sweden to succeed when they faced Murat Yakin's Swiss side at the Friends Arena on Friday evening.

However, Blagult failed to impress in the fixture, suffering a 2-0 loss at full-time and seeing their hopes of qualifying for next summer's tournament grow slimmer and slimmer. Granit Xhaka opened the scoring for his nation 65 minutes into the fold, coolly converting a penalty after Djibril Sow was brought down by Alexander Bernhardsson.

Johan Manzambi then doubled Switzerland's lead four minutes into stoppage time, as his shot from close range bobbled off the foot of Isak Hien and past a rooted Viktor Johansson.

However, Bergvall had the chance to change the outcome of the game moments before half-time. With the game level at 0-0 Viktor Gyokeres put Alexander Isak through on goal at the half-way line, with the Liverpool striker bundling goalward with an excellent touch to take the ball away from Manuel Akanji.

With two on his tail as he approached the edge of the box, Isak played a pinpoint ball to an unmarked Bergvall, who had the job of tapping it into an open goal. However, the ball ultimately found itself stuck underneath the feet of the centre-mid, who tripped over and left the ball in its place before Ricardo Rodriguez cleared his lines.

It comes as Sweden now sit rock bottom of Group B in the World Cup Qualifiers with one draw and two losses to their name. The nation will also face Kosovo once more come Monday, October 13, before Bergvall returns to Premier League action with Spurs.

Bergvall has impressed since joining Spurs in an £8.5million move from Djurgarden last February. To date, the youngster holds two goals and seven assists in from 55 appearances across all competitions for the Lilywhites.

He will hope to put behind the momentary blip he suffered against Switzerland ahead of his nation's clash with Kosovo, before he returns to club football with Spurs to face a struggling Aston Villa on Sunday, October 19.

Tottenham youngster Luca Williams-Barnett has landed the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for September despite only turning 17 last week.

The attacking midfielder, who made his Spurs debut for Thomas Frank's first team in the Carabao Cup third round tie against Doncaster, won the monthly prize for what is an U21 league despite his age. Williams-Barnett signed his first professional contract on his birthday at the start of this month.

He netted his first hat-trick at Premier League 2 level in a 6-3 victory at Leicester City last month while still 16, also providing an assist in that game. The youngster then sent in a corner from which Dane Scarlett set up Jun'ai Byfield to knock home the winning goal in a 1-0 home victory over West Bromwich Albion a week later.

After his impressive step up to join Wayne Burnett's development squad, the Premier League Football Development Panel named the teenager as the winner of the latest Player of the Month prize. His Tottenham U21s team-mate Rio Kyerematen was also shortlisted for the award after a strong month in the competition.

Frank said of William-Barnett's debut against Doncaster: "Very happy with that. I think it's always a pleasure to be part of a young player's debut. So, yeah, happy with that.

"Definitely over the last many years the focus on the talent development and academies across the world is so big. So the talent pool is bigger. There are these talents coming through that are younger and younger. But one thing is the debut when you're 16. The next step, and much more important, is how Luca or other players take those steps forward. It's very tough to keep going and then get into the first team as a really regular player. But the first step is very important."

If Williams-Barnett continues at his current pace and with the required work ethic, then there are high hopes for him to continue his first team exploits under Frank.

James Maddison is aiming to be back in action for Tottenham before the end of this season but will not rush his recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The Spurs midfielder suffered the injury to his right knee late on in the friendly against Newcastle in South Korea on August 3, which was Son Heung-min's farewell match for the club. It came after Maddison had only recently returned having missed the Europa League final because of a medial ligament injury in the same knee.

The 28-year-old released a YouTube video on Friday evening showing the first three weeks of his recovery and on his first visit back to Hotspur Way after his operation, he spoke to his team-mates. Maddison thanked both Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero for sitting with him while he was emotional inside the stadium after the game in Korea.

Spurs captain Romero simply said: "We're family." Bentancur gave Maddison a boost by explaining that his recovery was longer and he needed nine months out because the Uruguayan also damaged the meniscus in his knee, which the England international did not.

When speaking to club doctors, Maddison admitted that he is going to make sure that he is completely ready before coming back, but is hoping to return eight months after the injury which would see him back in April for the Premier League season's final couple of months.

"I've already looked [at the average time out], if it's eight months, six months isn't a question. The stage I'm at now, this needs to be right now," he said. "I'm 28, I'm going to be 29 when I return, I'm in my prime, really. These are my peak years ahead of me. I need to come back and I need to stay fit. So actually I'm not going to be pushing to say 'oh why are you taking so long', sort of thing.

"But if it gets to eight months and we're flying or whatever, if I'm in the right frame, that will allow me to play this season won't it, towards the end."

There were plenty of other interactions between Maddison and his team-mates including one with his fellow midfielder Pape Matar Sarr at the training ground.

"You're my favourite player in the group at the minute. You look sharp," said Maddison. "You look good. It makes me feel better when you play like you did the other night [against PSG]. I think you can get 15 goals this season. I want you to. Promise. 15 goals and I'll get you a gift."

Sarr replied: "Yeah I'll do it for you."

There were also early signs of Dominic Solanke's ankle problem when early in the season the striker said about his ankle when asked by Maddison how it was: "As good as it can be."

Tottenham have identified Brentford winger Kevin Schade as their potential Son Heung-min transfer replacement, according to latest reports. The South Korea international, who culminated a staggering 10 years at the club by winning a trophy, departed this past summer to join MLS side Los Angeles FC.

Attempts were made by Spurs to sign a permanent replacement immediately with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo linked before a move for Manchester City star Savinho was actively pursued, though that switch did not materialise.

Randal Kolo Muani was brought in on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day, but he has played just 13 minutes due to injury. The Frenchman played a half of football on Friday in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Watford.

Wilson Odobert looks to be Thomas Frank's chosen left-winger currently, but a new addition is seemingly still wanted - judging by a transfer update from Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg.

He wrote on X: "EXCL | Tottenham are among the teams closely monitoring the development of Kevin #Schade. The 23 y/o left winger is under contract with Brentford until 2028, and #Tottenham have shown interest in a potential transfer in the summer of 2026. One to watch this season — he is currently part of the German national team."

Schade has only managed one Premier League goal this season, but it is fair to say he is now part of a very different Brentford attack after both Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo departed the club for Newcastle United and Manchester United, respectively, this past summer.

Since moving to the Premier League, the German forward has picked up 20 goal contributions from a total of 82 appearances.

Given the output Son was able to maintain over a prolonged period, it is not quite the dream replacement, especially after a cash injection.

As confirmed in a club statement, the Lewis family "through ENIC Sports & Development Holdings Ltd (“ENIC”), injected £100 million of new capital into the Club."

Since leaving Spurs, Son has been in great form with eight goals and two assists arriving from his opening 10 games. He is certainly taking in all the new experiences since moving to the United States, with that continuing in his visit to watch the LA Rams in action at the SoFi Stadium last weekend.

In a video uploaded to their social media account, he said: "I've never seen a better stadium than Tottenham, but this one....So much better."

Despite scoring some memorable goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it is understandable that he made such a claim with the SoFi Stadium quite the spectacle.

Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Watford in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hotspur Way on Friday which gave a trio of first team players some much-needed minutes.

Spurs took the opportunity to hand a few of Thomas Frank's squad a run-out against the Championship visitors, who now have a new but familiar face in charge in the shape of Javi Gracia after Paulo Pezzolano was sacked with the Hornets in 11th spot in the table.

Watford brought a strong side to Tottenham's Enfield training ground and duly ran out 2-1 winners on the day against a Spurs side mostly containing young players, but this was more about getting some game time into the legs of players, including summer arrival Randal Kolo Muani. The France international arrived on deadline day in a loan move from PSG and has thus far only made a brief 13-minute substitute appearance from the bench in the Champions League win against Villarreal.

That's because in a training session in the days after, the 26-year-old was involved in a collision with midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, which left him with a dead leg that did not heal quickly and kept him out for the next month.

Now Kolo Muani is back in training though and played 45 minutes in the behind-closed-doors friendly as he stepped up his recovery from the injury. The Frenchman had already been working on his fitness before the injury as he had not played a minute of competitive football since early July at the Club World Cup for Juventus before that Spurs debut and had not been involved in pre-season work with PSG.

The other two first team squad members involved in the friendly against Watford were striker Dane Scarlett, who has been playing for the U21s in recent games, as well as goalkeeper Brandon Austin.

With most of Tottenham's players on international duty, it proved a helpful opportunity to get some fitness into various legs and it could mean with another week of work Kolo Muani might be available to take a spot on Frank's bench for the game against Aston Villa next Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.