Tottenham Hotspur

Maika Hamano grabbed her first goal of the Asian Cup to help Japan make it three wins out of three in the group stage with a 4-0 win over Vietnam on Tuesday morning.

Having already secured their spot in the knockout stages of the competition after winning their first two games of the group phase, Japan claimed the top spot of Group C in style and sets up a quarter-final with the Philippines on Sunday 15 March.

Maika returned to the starting XI and, in the second half of the clash at HBF Park in Perth, the young forward was on target to double her nation’s lead just six minutes after the restart.

Following a slick move by Japan in the build-up, a low ball was played across Vietnam’s box and Maika was there to slot home – netting her first-ever goal in this competition – before Aoba Fujino and Kiko Seike wrapped up the scoring and ensured a 100 per cent record in the group stage.

Maika went on to complete 63 minutes before being replaced by Seike, while defender Toko Koga was introduced at the break and played the whole second half to help Japan preserve a clean sheet.

Clare Hunt and Australia have also learnt their quarter-final opponents after the completion of the group stage, where they will face North Korea on Friday 13 March (kick-off 10am UK).

Pedro Porro joined Igor Tudor in speaking to the media at Estadio Metropolitano on Monday evening, ahead of our UEFA Champions League Round of 16, first leg against Atletico Madrid.

Here's what he had to say...

Tomorrow, you are playing at one of the hardest grounds in Europe - are you ready for that?

Pedro: "Good evening, everyone. To answer your question, yes. I think we need to have the right mindset for tomorrow's game. I've warned the players that we are coming to a very tough ground to play in. I like watching football, and I think we do have the proper mindset for this clash."

You were angry after being substituted against Palace - some fans suggest that maybe the players don't care as much as they do. Does that show you care?

Pedro: "I just want to make it clear, it was not about the manager. I am a player who gives it all on the pitch, 200%, and we never like losing, it's just about that. So, to end all the speculation that he was about the manager. We've never seen ourselves in this situation. So, it was just my reaction."

You know Cristian Romero well - is he hurting right now, looking at the way the season has panned out? How much does he want to make amends and sort this out for Spurs?

Pedro: "Well, Cuti is a very important player for us. We know it, everyone in the squad knows it. He makes all the difference, and we missed him a lot, because he can give a lot to the team and we were missing him, so we are delighted to have him back. He is hugely important for us, and this is all I can say."

We asked Diego Simeone if Atletico Madrid are the favourites or if you are, because in the league phase, you were fourth in the table, so you should be favourites. Do you think Spurs are favourites, or Atletico?

Pedro: "It depends on how you look at it. We were fourth on the table in the league phase, and they've had an amazing season. So, we just hope to give our best for tomorrow on it. I hope it goes well for us."

How have the last few months have been from your perspective?

Pedro: "Well, they have not been easy because of everything we've gone through. I had a minor injury a few weeks ago, and I just need to be ready. I could tell you, they have been tough times, but this does not affect my mindset and my team-mates' mindset. We always want to do our best. The past few weeks have not gone our way, have not gone the way we expected. We just need to keep going until the end and do things as well as possible."

The team's situation in the Premier League is radically different to the one we've seen in the Champions League - what is the main reason for this?

Pedro: "I cannot give you an exact answer on this. We have not been able to achieve the consistency we wanted. It could be because of different circumstances, but in the Champions League, we've competed well, we've done things right, and this is the reason why we are here. We also need to look at the positive side. The team has competed well in Europe, and we just need to do our best in the Premier League."

Can you clarify that the players really care about the situation in the Premier League?

Pedro: "This is a tough situation. The important thing, now that we are here, is to focus on tomorrow's game, and this is what matters."

What do you think of your new boss?

Pedro: "Well, since I found out he was coming to the club, I knew he was going to be a manager that would help us a lot. All the players know that we need to be on the right path with him. Again, we know that he's only in for three weeks now and he just needs to learn everything about us, and the other way around. We're on the right path."

Igor Tudor spoke to the media at Estadio Metroplitano on Monday evening, ahead of our UEFA Champions League Round of 16, first leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night (8pm UK).

Here's what he had to say...

You said on Thursday night about the players who want to be in your boat, and the players who aren't in the boat. Will we know by your team selection tomorrow who's in your boat?

Igor: "First of all, as you know, I never said, but the players who are in this position, I saw this morning in the training, so we are happy that Romero is back, Djed is back, Bissouma is not and Souza, because of the rules of the Champions League. So, the players are coming back, that's important. It's the first time since I'm here and we'll have, let's say, available the players to play in defence, the players who usually play. So, in all three games, we missed the players on their positions, and we missed the players who are usually playing. So, beautiful game to play tomorrow, a totally different competition than the Premier League. There is a good experience from this season, past games. So, let's see what happens tomorrow."

This is the first time you've been able to select Cristian Romero - as a former centre-back yourself, what kind of qualities does he bring, and how determined is he to play his part in turning around this whole situation?

Igor: "He missed a lot. He was also not feeling good to not be able to help the team. Now he's back. He was working these two, three weeks a lot, even with the fitness coach, he did separate running sessions to be in better shape now that he's back. We are happy. I'm sure that tomorrow he'll be a leader like he's always been."

How do you feel about these two games against Atletico - how important are they?

Igor: "Of course, very important, every game is important, as I said, always, after the game, we need to be focused on us, to grow. So, it can be an opportunity, a totally different mentality aspect can be used in this kind of game, so maybe this can help us to see which problems we have. I believe that these kinds of games can help us to switch in the right way, but always focus on us, to grow as a team, to do things better."

There was a lot of passion in today's training, do you feel you're getting a lot more out of these players over the last few days?

Igor: "I saw that more the time has passed, the sessions are always better, there's more quality in everything. Important players are coming back in the team, so that's the key, of course. As I said before, lots of old habits, sometimes take more time than you expected to change. This is also very interesting. This is the thing we are speaking about, me with the staff every day, how fast we can make the changes. When I'm speaking about changes, when I'm speaking about boats, when I'm speaking about that, because it's not easy to change the things you are doing for months or for a year. So, something is moving, not just something. So, we'll see tomorrow. Let's see tomorrow."

In some ways, is this a free hit to try some new things for the Premier League?

Igor: "I agree with both things. As I said, focus on us, playing a team who has a story in this Champions League, they have experienced, they have quality. We need to do our best in terms that we need to grow, as you said also, because our first aim is the Premier League - this needs to be said publicly, it's a normal thing - this is something extra, but that doesn't mean that we don't want to pass and don’t want to go to the next round."

How do you see Richarlison's importance for the team, and is he ready to start again?

Igor: "He will start tomorrow."

In what position?

Igor: "I've already said enough!"

What do you think of this version of Atletico Madrid? When you play Diego Simeone's teams, what specific things do you have to bear in mind?

Igor: "First of all, the mentality of the coach. You know how he was a player, how he's a coach. So the mentality of the team, experience they have in this competition, quality players. Every moment they can score the goal and they never stop running, so, tough opponent to play against. Big motivation from all sides to do what we need to do."

Tell us a bit more about how you see his mentality?

Igor: "We know how he is. Staying here, I don't know how many years in one club. It's been it's been something. I feel big respect for him - amazing coach."

Igor Tudor has confirmed that Radu Dragusin and Djed Spence are back from injury for the first leg of our UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Atletico Madrid.

Djed has been sidelined for our last two matches against Fulham and Palace due to muscle soreness, while Radu missed out against Palace.

Igor also has Cuti Romero available for the first time having missed four matches in the Premier League due to suspension.

Speaking to SPURSPLAY at the Wanda Metroplitano on Monday evening, Igor told us: "Djed is back, Romero is back, Dragusin is also back. That's nice. For the first time we have a team, let's say, where we can play with the players who usually play in that position. We have experience and quality back."

Asked for team news in his pre-match press conference, Igor said: "We are happy that Romero is back, Djed is back. So, players are coming back, that's important. For the first time that I'm here, we will have, let's say, available players to play in the defensive side, the players we usually play.

"All three games (so far under Igor) we miss the players in their positions and we miss the players who are usually playing. So, it's a beautiful game to play tomorrow, a totally different competition than the Premier League. Let's see what happens tomorrow."

Yves Bissouma and Souza are ineligible, while James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Mo Kudus, Deki Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies remain sidelined.

We’re just under a week away until Women’s Super League action returns after the international break with Everton the visitors to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Following a three-week break for the first international window of the year, we take on the Toffees in N17 on Sunday 15 March with kick-off at 11.55am UK time.

The wait is nearly over to see our Women’s First Team in action once again – and here’s why you should be there.

Mother’s Day special

Looking for the perfect gift for your mum or relevant guardian, why not bring them down alongside your whole family to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A lovely day out with your family, affordable prices and plenty on pitch entertainment, there’s plenty to soak up with our fixture against Everton.

Supporters can still grab their tickets for the fixture via our eTicketing platform, with tickets priced at £15 for adults, £10 for 18-21 years old and £5 for Under-18s.

Junior One Hotspur Members and Junior Men’s Season Ticket Holders can redeem a FREE ticket to the match with a full-paying adult ticket.

Goals galore?

If our last two matches before the international break were anything to go by, you can certainly expect drama and plenty of goals.

Our last WSL outing at Villa Park saw us hit seven goals against Aston Villa as we recorded just our second highest ever win in England’s top flight – and the joint second highest throughout the competition.

Then, in the Women’s FA Cup the following weekend, there was even more drama as Bethany England netted a stoppage time equaliser from the penalty spot to take our cup tie with London City Lionesses into extra time.

The game went to penalties and after 17 spot-kicks, Lize Kop produced the heroics to secure our place in the quarter-final of the competition with a trip to Chelsea up next.

Records to be broken

Our terrific performances in the WSL so far see us currently sat fifth in the table ahead of the final stretch of the campaign – level on points with Arsenal, albeit we’ve played two more games than them.

Accumulating 29 points after 16 games to date, the clash with the Merseyside club at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could see us match our best-ever points tally in a single WSL season (32 achieved in 2021/22 campaign) having played five games less.

Not only that, but a victory against the Toffees would also see us record the most wins in a single campaign in the top flight since our promotion in 2019.

Strong home form

Although our last visit to N17 ended in defeat to champions Chelsea, we still maintain an excellent home form in the league this season.

With 16 of our 29 points coming on home soil this term, we are currently third for the best home form out of the whole WSL so far – with only Manchester City (27) and Chelsea (18) recording more wins in front of their own fanbase.

Off-pitch entertainment

Despite the game being an early kick-off in the WSL, there’s still plenty of time enjoy our activities in the morning ahead of the action on the pitch.

You’ll will be able to meet our mascots Chirpy & Lily and get your game face on with the face painters pre-match, while we’ll have pre-match music from BBC Radio 1 DJ Jess Iszatt and musician James Black will be performing at half-time.

Alongside this, as part of the WSL fan pilot scheme, supporters will also have the opportunity to drink alcohol in view of the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Here’s a collection of photos from Under-21 training at Hotspur Way – including the first pictures of Mason Melia following his recent move from St Patrick’s Athletic.

The 18-year-old’s transfer was agreed with the League of Ireland side in February, 2025, and he arrived in January of this year – he’s currently working through an individual programme with our Academy staff.

The bulk of the Under-21s group, meanwhile, has been training hard in preparation for our next Premier League 2 fixture at Leeds next Monday evening (16 March, 7pm UK, live on SPURSPLAY).

Take a look through our Under-21s training gallery below...

The Club recently hosted a series of workshops on the impact of climate change for players in our Academy as part of our wider commitment to environmental sustainability.

Players from our Under-9, Under-10 and Under-11 age groups took part in the sessions at the Club’s Training Centre through the Football for Future programme.

Football For Future is made up of climate experts and sustainability leaders and uses the sport to engage new audiences through the climate conversation. Research by the organisation suggests that by 2050 an unprecedented number of football matches could be rearranged or cancelled due to weather, with an estimated 120,000 English grassroots matches called off annually.

The workshops engage young people in the climate conversation by providing accessible introductions using games, football examples, and interactive discussions.

Marcus Parry, our Sustainability Manager, said: “The climate crisis is the defining issue of our generation, and young people are central to driving meaningful change. As the Premier League’s greenest club, we are proud to lead the way, starting by equipping our young players with the tools, knowledge and ambition to take on this challenge.”

Elliot Arthur-Worsop, Founder of Football For Future, said: “It is inspiring to work with the Tottenham Hotspur Academy. Today’s Under-9s, Under-10s and Under-11s are tomorrow’s professionals, and the future of football will be shaped by the climate realities they grow up in. Our workshops are all about helping young players understand the challenge and feel empowered to be part of the solution.”

We have consistently been named the Premier League’s greenest club following studies carried out by BBC Sport and the UN-backed Sport Positive Summit.

The Club is a signatory of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and is committed to halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming net zero carbon by 2040.

In March, 2023, we also became the first club in the Premier League to deliver sustainability training to all our players across the Men’s, Women’s and Academy teams.

One of the voices of European football on talkSPORT and Sky Sports, well known for The Football Ramble podcast, an author and writer for The Guardian - and a regular contributor here at Spurs for almost 10 years - Andy Brassell continues to give his insight into our UEFA Champions League opponents as part of our '60 seconds on...' feature this season.

Next up, it's Atletico Madrid in the first leg of our Round of 16 tie at the Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday evening (8pm UK).

@andybrassell

First leg 'so, so important'

Andy: “I think the first leg of this Round of 16 tie is so, so important, mainly because Atletico are a completely different side at home than they are away - only Barcelona have won more home games than them in La Liga, and Barca have won all their home games, so that shows you where Atleti are at home, but it's more about the atmosphere, how it inspires them, how they attack the games, how positive they are and, obviously, they've got a really, really good squad at the moment. I just feel that if Spurs can come away with anything from this first leg, even maybe a narrow defeat, then it's all on for the second leg.”

The Barca example

Andy: “We saw an example of this recently with Atletico in the Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona, the fact they won the home leg 4-0, beat a really good Barcelona team 4-0, beyond their wildest dreams, really, and then they went away and tried to defend that 4-0 lead as if they were still the defensive team that they were in 2014 or 2016 - and they're not anymore. They're not the team that can defend their own penalty box – Barca won that second leg 3-0. They're just a little bit passive away from home, even against sides who they're better than - recently they only crept over the line right at the end against Oviedo, they had a draw at Levante as well - games that, if maybe they were more positive, they would be able to get a tighter grip on and just to realise that they can't just defend anymore, they're just not that team anymore. For Atleti, it's all about getting themselves a sizeable lead in this first leg.”

Evolution in the Simeone era

Andy: “The profile of the players has evolved since the beginning of the Diego Simeone era and having had to make do and mend for quite a few transfer windows, in the past two summers they've been very active, they've replenished the squad for the first time in a while and there's genuine depth there. They've strength off the bench as well. I think we've seen recently when they've rotated, there's probably 15, 16 who Simeone can really rely on, including his son, Giuliano, who's such a great tempo and culture setter, really is his father's son on the pitch - dynamic, adaptable, always involved, someone they just can't do without, really. Antoine Griezmann, on the other hand, has more of a peripheral sort of role. He's very useful off the bench, but only really off the bench nowadays. The big thing in the last week is that he's decided to stay until the end of the season because he wants to win some more silverware with Atleti before he says goodbye - he's their record goalscorer - and goes off to the MLS.”

Sørloth a threat

Andy: “The players who you’re looking at up front for Atleti are players that you might not think of because, as we said, Griezmann little bit more marginalised now. Alex Sørloth is in a really good run of form at the moment. He's the sort of physical player who, in a different lifetime - because it didn't really work for him at Crystal Palace - I think would have been a brilliant Premier League striker. He’s still pushing the elite tier of European striker, someone who can make the runs in behind and dominate in the air. So, he's someone for Spurs to watch. Giuliano Simeone contributes so much, but in terms of defence, they can be got at. I think we can maybe expect a few goals over the course of these two games, quite contrary to what people normally expect from Atletico Madrid. As I said, for Spurs, keep Atleti within shying distance at the end of the first leg, and everything, I think, is on for the second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next week (Wednesday, 8pm).”

Igor Tudor will have Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both available for selection ahead of our UEFA Champions League round of 16 opener with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Captain Cristian has missed our last four games through suspension after he was shown a red card in last month's trip to Manchester United. He has now served that suspension so, while he was already eligible to face both Atleti on Tuesday with the red card being issued in the Premier League, he can also return to face Liverpool on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Micky will not be able to face the Reds on Sunday following his red card against Crystal Palace on Thursday, however he is eligible to play in the Champions League and thus can line-up at the Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday.

January arrival Souza will not be eligible to play however as he is not in our squad for the knockout stages.

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