Tottenham Hotspur

The pair go back a long way – to playing together in the Netherlands national youth set up at Under-19 age group, together again for three seasons at Ajax and then in the senior Netherlands team.

Snapped up from Frauen-Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg following the expiry of her contract in a deal confirmed last week, defender Caitlin, a multi-silverware winner in Holland including the Vrouwen Eredivisie title with FC Twente, is counting down the days to when they might step out together in Lilywhite for the first time in the WSL.

"I know Lize already for so long,” she told us on signing last week. “I think we played together at the national team in the (Under-) 19s.

“She played already at Ajax and then we had a conversation about me coming to Ajax. I had a conversation with Ajax and it felt all good. I played there three seasons, also with Lize.

“She was already at the national team, then I was there later. Now we're playing together in the national team. I'm really happy and excited to play for Tottenham together.”

Caitlin told us what Lize had told her about Spurs. "Her experience, how it is, how the team is, the facilities… she said, ‘I hope you come’ and she asked a few times, but I couldn't say because it was not finished. I talked to her just before and I said, ‘I'm in England’, she replied, ‘no way’. It's really nice. I can't wait."

Behind the scenes | Caitlin Dijkstra

It all starts with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the famous Azteca (now known as the Estadio Banorte) in Mexico City on Thursday, 11 June (8pm UK).

Co-hosted by USA and Canada, this will be the 23rd World Cup, the inaugural tournament back in 1930.

As we build up to the summer’s football fest, we take a look at the Spurs players to feature on the greatest stage of all…

Glenn Hoddle, Gary Stevens, Chris Waddle

Four years after the finals in Spain, it was a very different story for Glenn Hoddle in Mexico.

This time, England boss Bobby Robson identified Hoddle’s talents and he was an integral part of their passage to the quarter-finals.

Glenn played every minute of England’s campaign which was dramatic at almost every turn. From the opening game defeat to Portugal, followed by a 0-0 draw against Morocco, through to the fabulous 3-0 wins over Poland and Paraguay and then the classic 2-1 reverse to Argentina - Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal followed by his genius winner. As the final whistle blew in front of 114,580 fans at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and Argentina marched on, so the curtain came down on Hoddle’s World Cup playing career.

He did, of course, lead England into World Cup 1998 as manager and guided the country to the second round, only to once again fall foul of Argentina, this time in a penalty shoot-out defeat.

One of our all-time greats, Glenn came through the youth system, made his debut in 1975 and lit up the Lane for the next 12 years, making 490 appearances in all competitions. The maestro lifted the FA Cup in 1981, 1982 - scoring in both - and UEFA Cup in 1984. He left for Monaco in 1987 with a highlights reel few could match. After his spell as England boss, he returned as Spurs manager between 2001-2003.

Chris featured in four matches in Mexico – he started the opening group games against Portugal and Morocco but then on the bench for the crunch game against Poland, where future Spur Gary Lineker scored a hat-trick. The winger came on after 79 minutes of that game, missed Paraguay and then came off the bench again as England fought in vein to come from 2-0 down against Argentina – a late rally saw Lineker pull one back and then go close, but it stayed 2-1.

Chris made 179 appearances for us between 1985-1989 – a £4.5m switch to Marseille made his the third most expensive player in the world at that time behind Maradona and Ruud Gullit.

Versatile midfielder Gary came off the bench against Morocco and Paraguay, two of his seven caps. Signed from Brighton in 1983, Gary made 200 appearances for us and won the UEFA Cup in 1984 before departing for Portsmouth in 1990.

Pat Jennings

The best goalkeeper in the world in his pomp, it was apt that the great Pat Jennings featured in two World Cups in the most illustrious era of Northern Irish football.

Pat played his first World Cup qualifier in 1964 – the same year he joined us from Watford – and had first featured in six qualifying campaigns before finally making his appearance on the biggest stage of all when Northern Ireland booked their place at the 1982 tournament in Spain. On Arsenal’s books at the time, Pat played in all four matches as Billy Bingham’s side reached the second round, causing one of the upsets of the competition as they beat hosts Spain 1-0 in the first group stage.

Having lost his place in goal at Highbury midway through the 1984/85 season, Pat was on the verge of retiring but he didn’t hang up his gloves since he remained first choice internationally and the 1986 World Cup was fast approaching.

He returned to Spurs during the 1985/86 campaign, primarily to keep fit and headed to Mexico at the end of the season with a Northern Ireland squad hoping to emulate their achievements from four years earlier.

That was always going to be a challenge having been drawn alongside Brazil, Spain and Algeria in Group D, made even more difficult after they drew their first game 1-1 with Algeria. Jennings started the game, making him our oldest-ever player to feature at a World Cup aged 40, and although Norman Whiteside scored early they couldn’t hold on to it, which meant they had to beat the two world superpowers if they were to progress.

Against Spain in Guadalajara, Northern Ireland conceded twice in the opening 18 minutes to virtually seal their fate, and although Colin Clarke scored a minute after the interval, they were unable to turn their fortunes around and lost 2-1.

Five days later in the same city, Pat celebrated his 41st birthday with a showdown against Brazil, but the South Americans were not in the mood to shower him with gifts. Instead, they peppered his goal with a barrage of shots as they inflicted a 3-0 defeat, a stunning 35-yard rocket from defender Josimar that flew through the Mexican air the pick of the goals.

That proved to be Pat’s last-ever competitive game as he officially announced his retirement, having served his country on 119 occasions, a then world record.

A Spurs icon, Club Ambassador and still working as a goalkeeping consultant in the Academy at Hotspur Way, Pat won the FA Cup, two League Cups and the UEFA Cup in his 13 years at Spurs, making 590 appearances – third in our all-time list.

The central defender started on the bench as Austria took on Tunisia in Vienna.

A close encounter took an unexpected turn when Tunisia's Rani Khedira looked to play Anis Ben Slimane through on goal on 37 minutes, a pass intercepted via Konrad Laimer's handball. Initially shown a yellow card, it was upgraded to a red via VAR - Austria down to 10 men for the friendly.

Kevin entered the fray at half-time and helped Austria see it out for a 1-0 win after Borussia Dortmund's Marcel Sabitzer fired home first-time from Stefan Posch's cross on 63 minutes.

Meanwhile, Lucas Bergvall also had a tough night as Sweden took on in-form Norway at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. Lucas started and played the first half as Norway raced into a 3-0 lead after 37 minutes with two goals from Palace's Jorgen Strand Larsen and one from Antonio Nusa on RB Leipzig. Sweden boss Graeme Potter made seven changes at half-time with Lucas replaced by Sebastian Nanasi as it ended 3-1, Alexander Isak on target.

Tuesday's action

One of eight youngsters to be named in our squad for the tournament, which also included a number of experienced first team players, she featured in all three group games, playing 31 minutes in total - the second highest amount out of all Academy players.

Stepping up to a senior environment for the first time, the versatile individual, who can play at full-back or as a winger on both sides, made an impact in our two games on Friday against West Ham United and Manchester United.

First, she was involved in our opening goal against the Hammers, beginning the move that allowed Araya Dennis to fire home, before producing a number of key tackles in our clash with Manchester United, including a recovery challenge on Elisabeth Terland which was followed by a loud cheer from the senior players on the touchline.

Presented with this unique opportunity after a fantastic season with the Under-19s, where she scored 11 goals and registered four assists, Heidi enjoyed every single minute of the experience and learnt important elements on and off the pitch.

“It was a very enjoyable experience,” she told us, reflecting on her time at World Sevens. “The style of play was very fun to play and made it more comfortable to come into at a senior level for the first time. It was perfect opportunity for us, as Academy players, to express ourselves.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of competing against experienced WSL players. It was obviously very fast tempo, you didn’t have much time to think, so it took some time to get used to, but it was a good measure to see where I’m at and good challenge for myself.

“It was really interesting to see the expectations and the standards, in particular, off the pitch – what is expected from a senior player and how to present yourselves at certain times.”

With the deadline having now passed for national football federations to submit their final 26-man squad lists for the tournament, we can now confirm our nine representatives that will be heading to the Americas.

For six of the nine players, this will be the first World Cup they have been a part of (listed in bold below) while Cristian Romero heads to the tournament looking to defend the title he lifted with Argentina in 2022.

Cristian Romero - Argentina

Kevin Danso - Austria

Luka Vuskovic - Croatia

Djed Spence - England

Pape Matar Sarr - Senegal

Pedro Porro - Spain

Lucas Bergvall - Sweden

Micky van de Ven - The Netherlands

Rodrigo Bentancur - Uruguay

Full fixture details for all of the World Cup games involving our players can be found in our fixture guide below...

Cuti Romero was injured in Roberto’s first game in charge at Sunderland on 12 April with Micky taking over the armband at the Stadium of Light and then leading the side for the rest of the season.

We collected 11 points from a possible 18 in the final six matches with key wins at Wolves, Villa and at home against Everton on a gripping final day, securing 17th place.

Micky reflected: “We’ve been through a rollercoaster and since Roberto came in, I think a new positive flow came into the group and we played some better football and we got the points.

“The gaffer has been unbelievable, I'm not going to lie, since he stepped in. I spoke a lot with him as well because he also saw that I was not in the best mood, even at the training ground.

“So, he spoke a lot to me and he said to me, ‘you're going to be a really important player for me these last couple of games and I'm going to rely on you. You need to trust me and trust me, I trust you’.

“He said, ‘I've seen you play even when I was at Brighton, when I was at Marseille, you're a top player and I'm going to need you these last couple of games, so let's push together’.

“I think he did it with multiple players who had a lot of conversations with him and he gave us so much confidence. I think that's really important, especially when you're in the difficult situation we were in. Luckily, we came through it and I'm really proud of the boys.”

Competing in the inaugural London edition of the seven-a-side competition, with our 18-player squad a mixture of first team staples and young Academy stars, we bowed out at the group phase but we certainly left our mark across the two days with plenty of flair and showcasing our next generation of players at the club in our fixtures with Aston Villa, West Ham United and Manchester United.

After a battling and excellent campaign, a record-breaking season for us in the Women’s Super League with our highest-ever points tally, the tournament was the perfect opportunity for players to express themselves on the pitch for one final time this season – and Lawrence spoke about how much the group enjoyed their time together over the two days.

“This is a tournament for the players really, first and foremost, and I think we saw the togetherness of the group,” he told us, reflecting on the time at World Sevens. “We brought a young group, lots of young players, who haven't even trained with us before, and I think we saw the collectiveness and resilience of the group, but also how much we enjoy each other's company.

“I don't think we ever went into this tournament worrying too much about the results. We just wanted to have fun, play football together as a group and it was another opportunity to spend more time together on and off the pitch. If you look back to yesterday, there's definitely a steep learning curve in terms of the rules being different; the offsides, the nature of the game and how hard it is physically, especially in this heat.

“We got to grips with that a lot better and you saw that probably in the first game. The second [game] was a great opportunity for 16 and 17 years old to test themselves against some of the best in Europe, so it was fantastic.”

Our Academy players certainly didn’t shy away from the task at hand, going toe-to-toe with some of the WSL’s best players this season, and caught the eye with their brave performances in competitive encounters – with Jhanaie Pierre shortlisted for Breakout Player of the tournament.

When asked about the youngsters stepping up to the occasion, Lawrence praised their ‘bravery’ and the mentoring from the senior players to help them settle in.

“It was really good to see the older players looking after [them] and mentoring the younger ones and, as a group, I think you could see both - off and on the pitch - that we had a lot of fun and enjoyed our football too.

“They've been amazing with the younger ones in terms of welcoming them into the group and probably from the outside looking in, you wouldn't even notice that they weren't part of the squad to begin with. Their performances were really brave and it was exciting as a group.

“Throughout the season, we've been a young, hungry team and we probably showcased it even more to an extreme side today in terms of the youth of the players that we brought, to compete against the best is amazing.”

It all starts with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the famous Azteca (now known as the Estadio Banorte) in Mexico City on Thursday, 11 June (8pm UK).

Co-hosted by USA and Canada, this will be the 23rd World Cup, the inaugural tournament back in 1930.

As we build up to the summer’s football fest, we take a look at the Spurs players to feature on the greatest stage of all…

Spurs at the World Cup | Jimmy Greaves – 1962, 1966

The World Cup story of Jimmy Greaves is quite often referred to in terms of the game he missed rather than the ones he did feature in, but it is an injustice to the legendary striker’s England career to only concentrate on his absence in the 1966 Final at Wembley Stadium.

During his time at Spurs, Greaves featured in seven World Cup Finals matches for England spanning two tournaments, scoring once.

Just a matter of weeks after scoring our first goal in the 1962 FA Cup Final victory over Burnley, the in-form striker – who had scored a staggering 30 goals in just 29 games for Spurs that season – was on his way to Chile as part of Walter Winterbottom’s England squad, along with team-mate Maurice Norman.

Greavsie started all four of England’s games, kicking off with a 2-1 defeat to Hungary before the Three Lions hit top form by beating Argentina 3-1, Jimmy netting the third. A goalless draw with Bulgaria followed, but that was enough to see them through to the quarter-finals, where the mighty Brazil were lying in wait.

Although without Pele, they still had class throughout the squad and with Garrincha in stunning form, Brazil inflicted a 3-1 defeat on England to send them packing.

Four years later, Greaves was without doubt the finest goalscorer in the English game and although he had suffered from hepatitis mid-season, great things were expected of him as the World Cup kicked off on home soil.

Jimmy was the only Spur in Alf Ramsey’s squad - the manager himself being the only other link to Tottenham - and once again he was involved from the start. Selected for all three group games, he played his part even if he wasn’t among the goalscorers as England emerged top of their section after matches against Uruguay (0-0), Mexico (2-0) and France (2-0).

However, a shin injury suffered in the final group game against the French kept him out of the quarter-final against Argentina, Geoff Hurst stepping into his place. England won 1-0, then defeated Portugal 2-1 in the semis, but Ramsey opted not to change a winning team for the final against West Germany, which meant Greaves on the bench.

The rest, as they say, is history. Hurst scored a hat-trick in England’s finest hour as the Three Lions won the World Cup, while Greaves was left to wonder what might have been.

On a happier footnote, Greaves finally received his winners medal at 10 Downing Street in 2009, after FIFA finally agreed that all members of a World Cup winning squad should receive one, not just the team that played on the day.

One of the all-time greats, Greavsie’s club record of 266 goals stood for over 50 years until Harry Kane hit his 267th in 2023. Signed from AC Milan in December, 1961, Greavsie scored in the 1962 FA Cup Final and 1963 European Cup Winners' Cup Final. He added another FA Cup to his medal collection in 1967.

His final tally of 266 goals came in 379 appearances in all competitions between1961 and 1970 – 220 goals in 321 league games, 32 goals in 36 FA Cup ties, five in just eight League Cup ties and nine in 14 European matches. The 37 league goals that he netted in the 1962/63 season remains to this day our record by any player in a single season.

Jimmy also scored 44 goals in his 57 senior international appearances, with 42 of those caps – and 28 goals – won while a Spurs player. He sadly passed away in 2021.

Having suffered defeat in the opening game on Thursday evening to Aston Villa, we got off the mark in the tournament in our first outing on Friday afternoon with an excellent 4-1 win over West Ham United to give us a chance of progression heading into the final match of the group.

Facing a well-equipped and experienced Manchester United side, who competed in last year’s inaugural tournament in Portugal, our time in the World Sevens was brought to a close as they ran out 8-2 winners on the night.

A bumper couple of days of fast-paced seven-a-side football, with plenty of laughs in between and well-rehearsed walkout routines, we take a look at some of the best images from across the two days…

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