Tottenham Hotspur

After meetings in 1962 (England won 3-2, Jimmy Greaves on target), 1966 (England won 1-0 in the quarter-finals) and then Maradona and the ‘Hand of God’ in Mexico in 1986, the teams met in the Round of 16 in France in 1998.

Teddy, then at United, was an unused substitute as England’s penalty curse continued in Marseille as another clash for the ages brought us Michael Owen’s solo goal, David Beckham’s red card and another hard-luck story as the 10 men lost 4-3 in the shoot-out.

In Japan/Korea in 2002, the narrative was very much Beckham’s redemption. Now captain, he and Teddy scored the goals against Greece that took England to the finals. Drawn with Argentina in the group stage, Beckham struck the winner from the penalty spot and Teddy was denied one of England’s great World Cup goals when his first-time volley was tipped over by Pablo Cavallero. England won 1-0, Argentina went out at the group stage and England lost to eventual-winners Brazil in the quarter-finals.

“It’s a shame I didn’t score at the World Cup,” reflected Teddy in an exclusive interview on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the rivals meet again, this time in the semi-finals in Atlanta (8pm UK) for the right to face Pedro Porro and Spain in Sunday’s final.

Q1 | You did it twice, Teddy - what’s it like to face Argentina in the World Cup?

Teddy: “Well, when you play against the South Americans, you think it's going to be glamorous, right? You think it's going to be a lovely, skilful, flicky, entertaining game of football. When you play against the Brazilians, the Argentinians, Mexicans, Chile, you think they're going to have that flair. Let me tell you, they are the toughest defenders you’ll ever play against. Think Martin Keown and treble it. They would not let you have a biscuit if it was on the side of a cup of tea. It's aggressive, constant, horrible - you know you're in for a rough ride from start to finish.”

Q2 | Spurs fans will remember your volley in 2002…

Teddy: “It's a shame I didn't score at the World Cup. I had two volleys, one against Tunisia in 1998 and then that one in 2002. Sometimes, when the ball leaves your foot, you think, ‘that's a goal’. The goalkeeper tipped it over. It came off the boot sweet, and I thought I'd finally scored, but we won the game, so it was great to be part of that.”

Q3 | It looks like being another battle this time around, doesn’t it?

Teddy: “Yes, a tough old battle, but when you look at both teams' front players, midfield attacking players, I think there's going to be goals. I think we're going to edge it by one - maybe a 3-2, 4-3. It could be an absolute whirlwind of a game that you just don't know how it's going to finish. I hope it's like that anyway. I hope it's an entertaining one and that we go for it and it's not a cagey one. We get the ball forward quicker than most teams and hopefully we'll finish them off and get to the final again at last.”

Q4 | I remember talking to you regularly about Harry Kane’s progress going back years now – look at him now!

Teddy: “He's amazing, isn't he? He's grown in stature. He's a proper player now, a proper leader of men as well, takes on the mantle, takes it all in his stride...”

Q5 | How do you see him as a player now?

Teddy: “For me, he's the full package. You know that if he gets half a chance, he's going to hit the target. That’s the way I used to speak about Jurgen Klinsmann - you give him half a chance anywhere in that last third and he’s ridiculous. He can hit it from wide left, wide right, six-yard box. The way he drops off as well, he can join in games, like the little ball he played into Jude Bellingham for his second goal against Mexico the other day. He's got it all.”

Goalkeeper Max Sievey is joined by defenders Oscar Dawes, Ted Evans, George Jobling, Solomon Olajide and Oscar Sandiford.

In midfield, we welcome Zion Beckles, Courtney Coffi Smith, Harry Hughes and Toju Wellspring, while Melvyn Kabongolo, Blake Philogene-Bidace and Phoenix Offiah are the forwards in this year’s intake.

Part of our Under-16 Premier League Cup-winning squad last season, the group has now begun pre-season training at Hotspur Way alongside their second-year team-mates in advance of the 2026/27 season.

“We’re thrilled to bring these young players into the building as full-time players,” said Under-18s Coach Jamie Carr. “Stepping up to Under-18s football represents a big step in the boys’ careers and as staff, we’re really looking forward to working with them and helping them to develop.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the players and their families for their long-running and ongoing dedication and commitment to our Academy. It’s an exciting time for everyone and we’re really looking forward to working together into the new season and beyond.”

The flying full-back's fine goal doubled Spain's lead against France just before the hour mark of Tuesday night's encounter.

Pedro played a one-two with Dani Olmo, broke into the penalty area and calmly slotted past goalkeeper Mike Maignan for 2-0 on 58 minutes. That's how it stayed in Dallas as Spain, in complete control, booked a final date against either England or Argentina in New York on Sunday (8pm UK).

He joins Gary Lineker, who fired home the equaliser in England's famous 1990 semi-final loss to West Germany in Italy and Kieran Trippier, who opened the scoring for the Three Lions against Croatia in 2018 - both occasions ended in heartbreak for England.

England 1-1 West Germany

West Germany won 4-3 on penalties

Brilliant against Holland, late drama against Belgium, battling back to win against Cameroon - Italia 90 was quite a ride before England lined up against West Germany in one of the most dramatic matches in the Three Lions' history. Behind England's drive to the semi-finals for the first time since winning the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966, two Spurs players - Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne. Lineker's goals fired Bobby Robson's men to the last four, Gazza's brilliance captured a nation. However, it ended in tears - Lineker levelled Andreas Brehme's deflected free-kick opener (60 minutes) with a low strike with 10 minutes remaining. Chris Waddle then struck the woodwork and Gazza was booked - ruling him out of the final - and the penalty curse struck as Stuart Pearce and Waddle missed. Germany beat Argentina to lift the trophy - Gazza and Lineker inspired our FA Cup win a year later.

England 1-2 Croatia (AET)

If Italia 1990 breathed new life into football in 1990, the 2018 tournament breathed new life into an England team that had struggled at the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euros. With five Spurs players to the fore - Harry Kane, Dele, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose all in the squad, Harry captain - England cruised through the group stage, ended the penalty curse against Colombia (Harry, Eric, Kieran all on target in the shoot-out) and then disposed of Sweden 2-0 in the quarter-final - Dele on target. Everything looked rosy again the semi-final as 'Trips' curled home a beauty of a free-kick to open the scoring against Croatia after five minutes. Alas, it wasn't to be again as future Spur Ivan Perisic levelled on 68 minutes before Mario Mandzukic's winner in extra time.

Spain 2-0 France

Already on target against Austria in the Round of 32 - his first goal for Spain - Pedro was back on the scoresheet as Spain took complete control against highly-fancied France in Dallas on Tuesday night. Our third semi-final goalscorer at the world's biggest sporting event, we are now guaranteed another World Cup winner with Pedro facing either Djed Spence's England or Cuti Romero and Macos Senesi's Argentina in the final on Sunday.

Our flying full-back played a one-two with Dani Olmo before slotting past goalkeeper Mike Maignan to double Spain's lead on 58 minutes.

It was Pedro's second goal of the tournament following his strike against Austria in the Round of 32 - his first goals for his country on the world's biggest football stage.

Earlier, Real Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal slotted home from the penalty spot after Lucas Digne brought down Lamine Yamal.

It means we are guaranteed a World Cup winner - Djed Spence's England take on Cuti Romero and Marcos Senesi's Argentina in the second semi-final in Atlanta (8pm UK).

The final follows in New York on Sunday (8pm UK).

Congratulations, Pedro!

The midfielder joined from Newcastle United last Monday (6 July) - subject to work permit - and today joined the squad for day five of pre-season as players mainly continued the strength and conditioning programme to build fitness at this early stage.

As the morning cloud lifted for blue skies in the afternoon at Hotspur Way, the players were back out on the grass for the second day in a row for more fitness tests and some light work with the ball for periods of the session as we look ahead to our pre-season schedule - including a tour to New Zealand and Australia - and the Premier League opener at Brentford on Saturday 22 August.

Sandro - who came through the youth system at Roberto De Zerbi's local club, Brescia Calcio - was out on the turf as his compatriot Head Coach watched on at our Enfield Training Base.

Sandro gets to work!

Put through their paces first in the gym and then on the grass, the squad was joined for the first time by our latest recruit Sandro - who arrived from Newcastle United earlier this month.

The Italian midfielder also linked up with his compatriot and fellow Lombardian Roberto De Zerbi for the first time, who continues to shape his squad in N17.

Pre-season LIVE: The latest updates from Hotspur Way

Check out the latest photos from training in our gallery below...

So far, 15 Spurs players have represented their countries in the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Now Pedro Porro (Spain vs France, Tuesday, 8pm UK), Cuti Romero, Marcos Senesi and Djed Spence (Argentina vs England, Wednesday, 8pm UK) are set to to feature in two of the biggest matches in global football - for a place in the World Cup Final.

After some near misses - Danny Blanchflower, Mel Hopkins, Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin (1958), Jimmy Greaves, Maurice Norman (1962), Alan Mullery, Martin Peters (1970), Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle (1986) all reached the quarter-finals - the dynamic duo of Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker finally became the first Spurs players to feature in a World Cup semi-final in England's heartbreaking loss to West Germany in 1990.

Since then, we've had a steady stream of semi-finalists, including our first finalist, Christian Ziege with Germany in 2002 and first winner, Hugo Lloris, who captained France and lifted the trophy in 2018.

Indeed, after waiting 60 years from the first World Cup in 1930 for our first semi-finalists in 1990, our interest peaked in 2018, when we had nine players represented in the last four!

Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker

The tournament that breathed life back into football in England was inspired by two Spurs players - Gazza and Gary Lineker. Gary scored four goals and Gazza's performances gave him global superstar status. However, England lost out to West Germany on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Italy. The following season, the pair were instrumental again in our 1991 FA Cup win.

Christian Ziege - Germany

Germany beat South Korea 1-0 in the semi-final before losing 2-0 against Brazil in the final - Christian, who entered the action off the bench, became our first World Cup finalist.

Paulinho - Brazil

Who can forget that semi-final in Brazil as Paulinho and the famous yellow shirts had to endure a 7-1 loss to Germany in Belo Horizonte? No doubt shellshocked, Brazil were beaten 3-0 in the third/fourth place play-off by Holland. Meanwhile, Germany beat Argentina in the final.

Dele, Eric Dier, Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose - England

Harry, England's skipper, Dele and Kieran all started the semi-final against Croatia. 'Trips' put the Three Lions 1-0 up on five minutes, but Croatia came back to win 2-1 after extra time, future Spur Ivan Perisic on target. The tournament that put England back on the map included a first penalty shoot-out win - and three of our players - Harry, Trips and Eric Dier - converted in the shoot-out.

Hugo Lloris - France

Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen - Belgium

All four players started as Hugo's France toppled Belgium by the only goal in the semi-final. Hugo started again as France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Russia - our long-term skipper becoming the first Spur to win and hold aloft the coveted trophy.

Cristian Romero - Argentina

Ivan Perisic - Croatia

Hugo Lloris - France

Cuti and Ivan started as Argentina toppled Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals. Hugo's France, having beaten England in the quarter-finals, beat Morocco in the last four to set up a final for the ages in Qatar - won by Argentina on penalties with Lionel Messi on target twice and Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick as it ended 3-3 after extra time - Cuti the second Lilywhite to lift the trophy.

In his first taste of a major international tournament, the full-back has played every minute of the knockout stages so far and even opened his account for his nation in the 3-0 win over Austria in the Round of 32.

An unused substitute in two of the three group games - playing the entirety of their 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in their second outing - Pedro has seemingly made the right full-back slot his own to help Luis de la Fuente's side progress to the last four by seeing off Portugal (1-0) and Belgium (2-1).

Spain's run to the semi-finals has been built largely on a solid defence - conceding for the first time in that quarter-final success and only facing seven shots on target in the six matches played so far at the finals - and now take on a potent France outfit featuring some of the best attackers in world football.

Pedro - who provided an assist the last time these two met in Spain's 5-4 win in the UEFA Nations League semi-final last year - views the opportunity as an added incentive to overcome their European opponent and is ready for the battle to reach the final.

"Playing a World Cup semi-final is always special, no matter the opponent, but France is one of the strongest teams in this World Cup, and that gives us even more motivation," he said, speaking to members of the international media ahead of tonight's semi-final at Dallas Stadium (kick-off 8pm UK).

"Always staying united. We’ve been working together for a long time, we’ve played a lot of matches, and we know each other better and better. We approach every game as if it were a final. That’s our mentality.

"At this level there are no favourites. These are two great teams. It will be a fantastic, hard-fought semi-final, and of course we hope it goes our way."

Earning his first cap against Georgia in March, 2021, the 26-year-old hadn't represented Spain for two years until his next appearance came as a Spurs player in 2023 and has since become a national team regular with a further 21 caps to his name.

The robust full-back has impressed in our colours and been a consistent performer across his three-and-a-half years, adding 47 appearances in all competitions last term to take his overall tally to 152 since his move from Sporting Lisbon in January, 2023.

Committing his future to the club after signing a new contract ahead of this summer's World Cup, Pedro has wracked up a lot of game time during his time in England and believes that added experience has helped prepare him for huge nights like the one he faces tonight.

"I’d say I have a lot more experience now," he explained. "In a year, you play about fifty more matches, and that helps you grow. Every game gives you something different. More than feeling ready, I feel much more experienced.

"Every match requires different qualities: sometimes you need to attack more, other times you have to defend with more focus. Against Belgium, for example, I had the chance to push forward for the first goal, overlapping with Lamine (Yamal), but for the rest of the game, my main job was to limit (Jeremy) Doku. Everything depends on the opponent’s characteristics.

"I’m very happy. 40 days ago, I was celebrating with my wife and kids, and now I find myself living all of this. I don’t read what’s being said outside: I just focus on giving my best. I’m sure my family is proud of me."

Joining up with the Club in July, 2025, after his transfer from Hajduk Split was agreed in 2023, the Croatia international made his first appearance in our colours in a pre-season fixture against Reading, registering a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory.

In the matchday squad for the 2025 UEFA Super Cup and our opening two Premier League fixtures last term, the 19-year-old defender later headed to Germany to join Hamburger SV on loan for the 2025/26 season, where a successful spell saw him make 30 appearances across all competitions, scoring six goals.

Making his World Cup debut last month against England, he has six senior caps and one goal to his name for the Croatia national team.

Wishing you all the best for the future, Luka!

After going through their initial testing as the players returned from their summer break, the squad was on the grass today as we continue to strengthen ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season.

With Roberto De Zerbi watching on, the team continued to work on their fitness and conditioning with our first pre-season game just nine days away as we face MK Dons on Wednesday 22 July.

Pre-season LIVE: The latest updates from Hotspur Way

And our Club Photographer was there to capture the story of day four. Check out the latest photos from training in our gallery below...

The best of the action from pre-season, day one!