Tottenham Hotspur

‘Daws’ featured in 40 of our 46 matches as we finished fourth in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League for the first time and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where we suffered an unexpected loss to Portsmouth.

It’s to the team’s credit that they bounced back from that defeat at Wembley to win four of our next five matches in the home stretch, beating Chelsea, Arsenal and then Manchester City on that famous night at the Etihad.

Michael joined another four Spurs players – Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Ledley and Aaron Lennon - in Capello’s provisional 30-man squad, but agonisingly was cut from the final 26 for South Africa.

However, Rio Ferdinand was injured in England’s first training session in South Africa on 4 June and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament – Daws called in as his replacement.

Michael featured in a friendly win against Platinum Stars – Defoe on target, but not seen as an ‘official’ match, so Daws didn’t win a cap – and he remained an unused member of the squad as England were knocked out by Germany.

Daws went on to win four caps.

What’s it like to… be in England’s World Cup squad?

Michael Dawson: “First of all, it’s an honour. I was in a 30-man provisional squad, left out and then Rio Ferdinand got injured on the first day of training and I was called up. I went in as an uncapped player alongside absolute superstars. I was thinking, ‘what is this going to be like for me?’ and I'll tell you what, it was an incredible experience and a learning curve for me, being away for long periods, isolated, alongside all the pressure.

“I wasn't one of those players who was playing, I was there to support the team. I was going in as fifth choice centre half, then Ledley gets injured, then Jamie Carragher gets suspended and you start thinking, ‘wow I'm now a lot closer to playing than I was before…’ but it wasn’t to be.

“We had five players out there – Leds, myself, Crouchy, JD and Azza. I would play darts with David James at the hotel, Glen Johnson, Crouchy, myself. I would always play darts and try and interact because I wasn't playing. That’s the only thing about the whole experience, I knew the probability was that I wasn’t going to play. I wasn't like one of the main figures, so you have to learn from these players, you try and learn and experience it all and you want to be part of it. I played golf every afternoon with the guys, I mean Joe Hart was I think probably number two goalkeeper, he might have even been number three, Theo Walcott, I always tried to interact with everyone and mix and be part of the squad and team.

“I go back to when I was 17, 18, when Ronaldinho scored that goal for Brazil against England (in the quarter-finals) in 2002. I was in the pub at seven o'clock in the morning with my brother… years later and I’m there at the World Cup and dreaming, thinking, ‘wow, just to be part of it’ and you've got superstars all around you and you're going to World Cup games with all the expectation and pressure of playing for England.

“It’s something you dream of and that's was what it was for me. Unfortunately, I didn't play a minute in South Africa, but it was certainly a learning curve, just being involved and seeing it from the inside rather than the outside looking in.”

Oliver, who turned 17 last month, has been a regular for our Under-18s during the recently-concluded season after arriving from Leeds United last summer, where he had been since the age of eight.

Capable of playing at centre-forward or on the right side of the attacking line, he featured in all but one of our Under-18 Premier League games in 2025/26, scoring 14 goals along the way including a hat-trick at Birmingham City in March. He also added three more goals in our run to the semi-finals of the Under-18 Premier League Cup, taking his tally to 17 overall.

An England Under-17 international, Oliver also made four appearances in our Under-19 UEFA Youth League campaign.

Congratulations, Ollie!

It all starts with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the famous Azteca (now known as the Estadio Banorte) in Mexico City. 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...

Paulinho

Five of our seven players at the 2014 World Cup reached the last eight – with Paulinho part of the Brazil side shocked by Germany on home soil, a defeat now know as the Mineiraço.

The midfielder joined us from Corinthians for the 2013/14 season having won a host of trophies in Brazil including the Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup in 2012 and was then part of the Brazil squad to win the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013.

Eventually capped 56 times, Paulinho travelled home for the World Cup after scoring eight goals in 37 appearances in his first season at Spurs.

Paulinho started all three group games as Brazil topped the table with wins against Croatia and Cameroon and a draw against Mexico. He didn’t feature in the Round of 16 penalty shoot-out win against Chile, but was then back in for the 2-1 win against Colombia to take Brazil into the semi-finals.

That’s where it all went wrong. Germany were 5-0 up inside half-hour and 7-0 up by the time Oscar scored a late consolation for the heartbroken hosts, 7-1 the infamous final scoreline at the Mineirao Stadium Belo Horizonte.

Nacer Chadli, Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen

Nacer Chadli, Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen were part of the Belgium squad to reach the quarter-finals. All three Spurs players started in the opening group game against Algeria – Nabil Bentaleb lined up for Algeria – but only Jan featured off the bench in the 1-0 win over Russia.

Jan and Mousa were back in for the final group game against Heung-Min Son’s South Korea and Jan scored the winner with Nacer off the bench as the Red Devils progressed to a Round of 16 clash against the USA. Jan started again, Nacer off the bench again in a 2-1 win against the States and it was the same story for the pair as Argentina won the quarter-final 1-0, Mousa didn’t feature.

Nabil Bentaleb

After the opening defeat against Belgium, Nabil’s Algeria also progressed from the group with a 4-2 win against Korea and 1-1 draw against Russia. The midfielder started all three group games but didn’t feature in the Round of 16 loss to Germany.

Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris was the last of the five Spurs to make it to the quarter-finals. Hugo started every game and France looked good as they beat Honduras 3-0 and Switzerland 5-2 before a 0-0 draw against Ecuador set up a Round of 16 tie against Nigeria. That was a 2-0 win but Germany got the better of a tight quarter-final, winning 1-0.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Again, Cameroon didn’t have the best of times at the finals.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto was back in the squad and started the first two group games – a 0-0 draw against Mexico and 4-0 loss against Croatia. He didn’t feature in the final game, a 4-1 loss to Brazil.

A left-sided defender, Maeson joined us as a 10-year-old and after going full-time as a scholar in 2022, he signed his first professional contract mid-way through the 2023/24 campaign.

He played a key role towards the end of that season in helping our Under-21s lift the Premier League 2 title and became a regular at that level during 2024/25, a campaign which also saw him named in our first team squad on two occasions.

He overcame a long-term injury to make eight further Premier League 2 appearances in 2025/26.

Earlier in his career, he was part of our young squad that won the Under-17 and Under-18 Premier League Cup double in 2022/23.

Congratulations, Maeson!

The versatile defender/wide man made the perfect start to preparations for this summer’s tournament by providing the assist for Harry Kane’s winner against New Zealand in England’s warm up friendly win in Tampa on Saturday night.

Next up, another warm up fixture against Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday before the real thing kicks-off for the Three Lions against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday week, 17 June (9pm UK).

Eric, who left us in 2024 after almost 10 years of service, played in two World Cups, both as a Spurs player. He scored the winning penalty in a shoot-out against Colombia and captained the team in the group game against Belgium as the Three Lions reached the semi-finals in Russia in 2018 and earned the last of his 49 caps with two more appearances in Qatar in 2022.

Team-mates for 18 months following Djed’s arrival from Middlesbrough in the summer 2022, Eric is keeping a close eye on Djed’s progress and delighted he’s been selected for the pinnacle event of world football after featuring 44 times for us last season.

Asked for his message to Djed ahead of the tournament, Eric told us: “Just to enjoy it - I've already told him to! We were together at the club for a while and we stay in touch. I spoke to him a couple of days ago.

“It will be one of the best experiences he's going to have in his career and, hopefully, he’ll have more. I think Djed has fantastic individual characteristics, some of them physical, some of them technical and some of them mental.

“I'm excited to see him with the new manager at Spurs next season. I think he has fantastic attributes. He just needs to keep working hard and stay calm. He has fantastic abilities and I like him, too. I feel like he had a tough time, you know, for a while and he showed real resilience to get through that.”

The East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) Festival brought together around 60 players between the ages of 10-12 from Football Samurai Academy, Kingston Football Academy and the Frank Soo Foundation for a football tournament at the Club’s Training Centre. The Frank Soo Foundation is named after the first and, to date, only person of ESEA heritage to represent the England men’s national team.

ESEA players account for fewer than 0.5% of professional academy scholars in the UK. The festival was organised to strengthen engagement with ESEA communities, celebrate emerging talent and create opportunities for players to be identified for our Elite Development Centres and Academy pathway programmes. Three players were selected for invitation into the Club’s Elite Development Centres off the back of the event.

Jack Chapman, Head of Academy Recruitment for Tottenham Hotspur said: “We were proud to showcase the talent, passion and potential within London’s East and Southeast Asian communities through this festival. As a Club based in one of the most diverse areas of the capital, we are committed to ensuring talented young players from every background can see a clear pathway into the game and have access to opportunities that support their development and progression.”

It all starts with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the famous Azteca (now known as the Estadio Banorte) in Mexico City. 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...

Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa provided mixed emotions for our players - summed up perfectly by England, where Jermain Defoe celebrated his one and only World Cup finals goal but Ledley King was forced off at half-time in the opener against the USA, missed the rest of the tournament – and that was the last of his 21 caps.

Aaron Lennon also started the opener against the USA – a 1-1 draw – with Peter Crouch a second half substitute. That was Crouchy’s role again against Algeria, where ‘Azza’ started again in a goalless draw.

Jermain came off the bench for that one and was named in the starting XI by Fabio Capello as England needed to beat Slovenia to progress. They did just that thanks to JD’s strike, a typical Defoe goal, timing his run to perfection to get ahead of Marko Suler and convert James Milner’s cross on 23 minutes.

Defoe stayed in the starting XI for the Round of 16 tie against Germany at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, remembered for the infamous ‘ghost goal’ from Frank Lampard. Trailing 2-0, England pulled a goal back from Matthew Upson on 37 minutes and two minutes later, Lampard’s shot came off the underside of the crossbar and bounced clearly over the line. Nothing was awarded – no VAR in 2010 – and Germany went on to win 4-2.

Giovani dos Santos

It’s fair to say we didn’t see the best of Gio at Spurs – but he has legendary status with Mexico, earning 106 caps over 11 years, 2007-2018. He started all of Mexico’s matches with a 2-0 win over France the highlight in the group stages. Mexico drew against South Africa, beat France and that was enough to take them through, despite a 1-0 loss to Uruguay. They then faced Argentina, who ran out 3-1 winners in the Round of 16. Gio was voted runner-up for the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament award, which eventually went to Thomas Muller of Germany.

Wilson Palacios

A huge hit at Spurs when he joined us half-way through the 2008/09 season, powerhouse midfielder Wilson started all three of Honduras’ group fixtures in South Africa. Unfortunately, a 1-0 loss against Chile in the opener had them on the back foot – and they were then faced with eventual-winners Spain in the second match. David Villa struck both goals as Spain ran out 2-0 winners. Honduras couldn’t qualify but still had a big say – Switzerland beat Spain in the second group game, and both challenged to qualify for the knockout phase with Chile. In the end, Honduras’ 0-0 draw against the Swiss saw Spain through after they beat Chile 2-1.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Sebastien Bassong

Sebastien Bassong spoke later of the immense pride of representing an African nation in South Africa, but Cameroon were dealt a tough group alongside the Netherlands, Denmark and Japan. They needed a positive start against Japan and both Benoit and Seb started as Japan nicked it 1-0 in Bloemfontein. Both started again in a 2-1 loss against Denmark in the second game and that meant it was all over before they faced eventual finalists Holland. Benoit started this one, Seb missed out through injury and Rafa van der Vaart’s Holland ran out 2-1 winners.

Grafting for Glory: Andy Robertson's story  Tottenham Hotspur

Our skipper, who missed the final six matches of last term after picking up a knee injury against Sunderland on 12 April, entered the fray after 61 minutes at Kyle Field, Texas.

Goals from Lautaro Martinez and Giuliano Simeone saw Argentina home. They next play Iceland on Wednesday before kicking-off their World Cup against Algeria on Wednesday week, 17 June.

Elsewhere, Luka Vuskovic was an unused substitute as Croatia beat Slovenia 2-1 in Varazdin. They now travel to the USA and will open their World Cup programme against England in Dallas also on Wednesday week, 17 June.

Meanwhile, all our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen, his family and friends after the playmaker collapsed in Denmark's friendly against Ukraine. The match was abandoned shortly afterwards, but thankfully Christian was able to walk from the field after regaining consciousness.

Speaking this morning, as reported by the BBC, Denmark's national team doctor Morten Boesen gave this update: "I spoke with Christian this morning, and he is doing well. He is with his family and in good spirits. The expectation is that he will be discharged soon and can return home."

Monday's action

It all starts with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the famous Azteca (now known as the Estadio Banorte) in Mexico City. 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...

Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, Paul Robinson

Aaron Lennon burst onto the international stage after arriving at Spurs in the summer of 2005 – a year later, he was representing England at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Outstanding as we challenged for Champions League places in the Premier League under Martin Jol in 2005/06, the jet-heeled winger had just turned 19 when he earned his first senior cap in a World Cup warm up against Jamaica on 3 June.

His next cap was on the world stage as England took on Trinidad & Tobago in Nuremburg – England won 2-0 with late goals from future Spur Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard.

England progressed after a 2-2 draw against Sweden and ‘Azza’ was a late substitute as England beat Ecuador in the Round of 16.

Next up, an infamous quarter-final against Portugal as Wayne Rooney was sent off and Aaron came on for David Beckham on 52 minutes. It stayed at 0-0 – Portugal went through on penalties with Cristiano Ronaldo slotting home the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.

The legendary wide man went on to feature at the 2010 World Cup and earned 21 caps over a seven-year spell. He made 367 appearances for us in a 10-year stint, 2005-2015.

Paul Robinson joined us from Leeds in the summer of 2004 and by October, had established himself as England’s number one – as the White Hart Lane faithful always sung to him!

He was up to 22 caps by the start of the tournament and played every game – Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden, Ecuador and Portugal, keeping four clean sheets out of five. The popular goalkeeper won 37 of his 41 caps during his time at Spurs, departing for Blackburn in 2008.

Michael Carrick impressed in our run to fifth place in the Premier League in 2005/06 and earned a place in Sven Goran Eriksson’s squad for Germany. He only featured against Ecuador, starting with Robbo in the 1-0 win in the Round of 16. Carrick moved to Manchester United later that year and went on to earn 34 caps.

Young-Pyo Lee

Young-Pyo Lee became the first South Korean player to ever pull on the Spurs shirt when he joined us from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2005.

The full-back had been one of his country’s key players for a number of years, moving to Europe to further his career and he quickly established himself in the Netherlands. He won league titles and reached the Champions League semi-finals PSV and on the international scene, he’d been a major part of the South Korean side which enjoyed a fairytale journey at the 2002 World Cup, reaching the semi-final stage as they co-hosted the tournament with Japan before losing out Brazil.

Young-Pyo started all three group games against Togo, France and Switzerland. It started well for Dick Advocaat’s side as they came from behind to beat Togo 2-1 before holding France to a 1-1 draw. That meant they needed a draw from the final game against the Swiss to progress – but they fell to a 2-0 loss.

Young-Pyo earned 127 caps for South Korea and featured in his third World Cup in South Africa in 2010.