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Spurs international watch: Brilliant night for defender

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On Saturday evening, there was action for Tottenham Hotspur players Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson, as their Wales side hosted Kazakhstan in World Cup qualifying. Both players were named in the starting XI. In defence, Davies – the captain – started as a left sided centre back in a four, partnering former Spurs defender Joe Rodon, whilst Johnson lead the line in a 4231 formation.Â

How things went for Tottenham Hotspur pair and Wales on Saturday

With just nine minutes on the clock, Wales took the lead. After Craig Bellamy’s side had lost the ball in the Kazakhstan penalty area, good counter pressing won the ball back, leading to Davies laying the ball off to Daniel James, who found the back of the net via a deflection. Â

Just after the half hour mark, however, the visitors equalised from the penalty spot, after a somewhat controversial handball call. The sides went into the break at 1-1 and with everything all to play for. Â

Within the first two minutes of the second half, Wales retook the lead. An inswining corner was completely missed by the goalkeeper in his attempt to claim the ball, and there was Davies to take full advantage by nodding into the unguarded net. A goal and an assist for the Spurs man. Â

Then, just as the game entered stoppage time, Wales got a third goal to make sure of all three points, securing a 3-1 win on match day one of their qualifying campaign. Great night all round. Â

Especially for Davies, who as well as his goal and assist, recorded; two clearances, one tackle, 153 touches of the ball, 140/145 accurate passes, and one chance created. As for Johnson, he played 62 minutes, before being taken off. Playing up front definitely does not suit his game. Â

This win leaves Wales second in their group following the completion of match day one, behind North Macedonia on goal difference. They will have the chance to overtake them on Tuesday evening, when they play each other over in Skopje. Kick off for that one is 19:45 GMT. Â

As a quick sidenote, as not enough happened for an individual piece – Pape Matar Sarr came on as a half time substitute for Senegal in their 0-0 draw away to Sudan in World Cup qualifying. This leaves Senegal in 3rd place in the group, with nine points from their five games so far. A win would have sent them top.Â

Next up is another qualifier, this time at home to Togo, on Tuesday, for a 21:00 GMT kick off. Â

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Spurs international watch: South American duel

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On Friday night, Tottenham Hotspur players Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero locked horns, as Uruguay hosted Argentina in World Cup qualifying. In the reverse fixture, back in the autumn of 2023, Uruguay condemned Argentina to their first defeat as champions of the world. In that game, Romero started, whilst Bentancur came on in the second half.Â

In this game, both players were named in the starting XI by their respective managers. As usual, Romero as the right sided central defender in a back four, whilst Bentancur played at the base of the Uruguay midfield. Â

How things played out when two Spurs players came up against each other

Throughout the first half, Argentina were the dominant side, though they could not make their superiority count, and the sides went into the break goalless. Then, midway through the second half, Romero’s side took the lead. Â

That goal would prove to be decisive – the only goal of the game – as Argentina took a big step towards World Cup qualification, whilst inflicting a bump in the road for Uruguay’s qualification, albeit they should still be fine in any case. Â

As for the Spurs players themselves, they both completed the 90 minutes. Romero completed; four clearances, one blocked shot, three interceptions, one tackle, 61 touches of the ball, and 2/2 aerial duels won. Most importantly, he did not pick up an injury. Â

Meanwhile, Bentancur recorded; 84 touches of the ball, 6/7 long balls completed, one shot blocked, 4/4 aerial duels won, two clearances, three interceptions, and one tackle. Â

This means Argentina have extended their lead over Uruguay to eight points now. They sit top of the CONMBEOL World Cup qualifying standings, with 28 points from their 13 games. Uruguay, who had sat in second place before this break, are now in fourth place – now below Ecuador and Brazil, and only ahead of Paraguay on goal difference – with 20 points from their 13 games.

Still, as touched on above, they should still be fine for qualification. With the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to 48, there are six automatic qualification places, with seventh place entering the inter confederation play offs. As it stands, Bentancur's side are currently seven points clear.

Next up for Argentina is a home game against Brazil on Wednesday, the 26th of March, at 00:00 GMT, whilst Uruguay face Bolivia away from home – in seriously high altitude, on Tuesday, the 25th of March, at 20:00 GMT. Bolivia are the side in seventh, so a win would be huge.

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Spurs international watch: Another goal for youngster

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On Friday afternoon, England U20’s were in elite U20 league action, as they faced Portugal away from home. For this game, Tottenham Hotspur youngsters Ashley Phillips – currently on loan at Stoke City – and Dane Scarlett, whom has trained with the England U21s this week, both started the game. Â

After just seven minutes of the game, Scarlett gave England the lead, though Portugal equalised just after the half hour mark. Those two strikes would prove to be the only ones of the game, as the sides played out a 1-1 draw. Â

As for the Spurs youngsters themselves, Phillips played the whole 90 minutes, whilst Scarlett played for an hour. His goal was his ninth for the England U20s, and 26th overall goal for England age groups – having scored once for England U15s, twice for England U16s, 12 in just 14 games for England U19, and twice in four games for the England U21 side. Â

He will be hoping he will do enough to push up to the U21 squad for the European Championships this summer, having already got a taste for things there – albeit not playing at Spurs is unlikely to help his cause in that respect. Still, another goal won’t have done his chances any harm at all. Â

If the likes of Liam Delap are in the senior squad, that will give him even more chance to stake his claim. It is a shame that his goal for the U21s in the autumn came when U21s manager Lee Carsley, who was away as interim manager of the senior side, but again, it won’t have done too much harm. Â

Likewise for Phillips, whom is playing every week for Stoke City in the Championship – albeit a struggling side. There are a number of second tier players in the current U21 squad, so he will be thinking why not if he continues to play every week for Stoke – and puts in the performances to go along with it. He has played 2362 minutes in the Championship so far this campaign. Â

In the meantime, next up for England U20s is another elite league fixture, this time at home to Switzerland. As it stands, England are on top of the table with 15 points from seven games, though Germany have the same amount of points and a game in hand, so let’s see. Â

As a quick sidenote: Dominic Solanke got some handy rest, as he remained an unused substitute during England's 2-0 win over Albania in Thomas Tuchel's first game in charge.

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Spurs international watch: Youngster makes senior debut

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As many of you will know, Spurs youngster Jamie Donley is having a very good time of it on loan at Leyton Orient this season. Although the goals and assists have dried up of late, he is still playing nearly every game, for a side that are pushing for a play off spot in League One. Â

Back in January, he was named the EFL young player of the month – an award that covers the Championship, League One, and League Two. He was interviewed about it, his season so far, and his ambitions at Spurs – you can read the transcript of that interview here, with a link to the interview itself within the piece. Â

 In February, he impressed live on national television with his performance against Manchester City in the FA Cup – whilst forcing an own goal with his incredible half way line shot that struck the underside of the crossbar. Â

The 20-year old was born in Northern Ireland and raised in England to a Northern Irish father and an English mother, making him eligible to play for either country. After representing both countries at youth level, Donley chose to play for the Northern Ireland senior team this month, and was called up for friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden. Â

Jamie Donley makes his Northern Ireland senior debut on Friday

On Friday evening, he made his senior debut – coming on as a second half substitute in a 1-1 draw against the Swiss – playing the final 33 minutes of the game. An incredible moment in a brilliant season for him personally. Â

They will play Sweden, on Tuesday, the 25th of March at 18:00 GMT. It will be touch and go whether or not he has the possbility to come up against Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lucas Bergvall, with the 19-year old having missed training this week with illness – although manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has said it is nothing serious. We will see if he plays any part in their game against Luxembourg on Saturday first. Â

Either way, another proud day for Donley, it has been some year for him. It will be very interesting to see how Spurs go about his development next season – one would assume he is going to be prepared for a Championship loan, perhaps after a pre-season with Spurs – albeit a pre-season with a loan club could help him to settle in better. The fact he was at Spurs for pre-season last year probably contributed to his slow start at Orient. Â

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Spurs international watch: Mixed night for defender

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On Thursday evening, there were international games played all over the world, in many different competitions. There were games played on Wednesday too, but only a small handful. Thursday was when the first international break of the calendar year really kicked into action. Â

With it, there were a number of games for Tottenham Hotspur players. Yves Bissouma and his Mali side picked up an important win in World Cup qualifying, with the midfielder picking up two assists. Heung-Min Son and Yang Min-hyeok's South Korea side were held to a draw at home to Oman in their qualification campaign. Meawhile, Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie’s Italy lost at home to Germany in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter final action. Â

Also in Nations League action was Pedro Porro, whose Spain side were in action away to the Netherlands in their quarter final first leg. As has been common practise since first choice Dani Carvajal got injured, Porro started the game at right-back for the European Champions. Â

How things went for Pedro Porro and Spain on Thursday evening

After just nine minutes, Spain took the lead – as Spurs linked Nico Williams found the back of the net. However, after 28 minutes, the hosts equalised through left winger Cody Gakpo – with a lot of fans saying that Porro did not get close enough to him, allowing him to find the bottom corner. Â

The sides went into the break at 1-1, but just a minute after the break, the Dutch took the lead for the first time in the game. It looked like Spain were heading into the second leg at home with a defeat, but three minutes into stoppage time they managed to rescue a draw, and the sides will head to Spain with the tie firmly in the balance at 2-2. Â

As for Porro himself, it was another full game completed for him, as his minutes continue to rise in a very intense season for him – albeit he did not play in the defeat to Fulham last weekend. It was definitely not his best performance, as he failed to replicate his impressive displays in the group stage. Â

The aforementioned second leg will take place on Sunday, the 23rd of March, and will kick off at 19:45 GMT. The winners of that will proceed to the Nations League final four to take place in the summer, and will play two games regardless of their semi final result, with a third place play off also scheduled to take place. Â

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Spurs loan watch: Tough night in Italy

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On Thursday evening, there was UEFA Nations League quarter final action for the side of two Tottenham Hotspur players – as Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie’s Italy side hosted Germany at the San Siro, for the first of a two legged tie. This is the first time the competition has had a quarter final stage. Was just thinking football needed more games.Â

As expected, Vicario was on the bench, with Paris Saint Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma preferred instead. However, Udogie got the nod to start as the left wing back in manager Luciano Spalletti’s 352 formation. Â

How things went for Tottenham Hotspur duo in the Nations League

After just nine minutes of the game, Italy took the lead, after some build up down the left side from Udogie and Alessandro Bastoni, the play was switched and they scored from a cutback. That goal was enough to give the Italians a lead heading into the half time interval.Â

However, four minutes after half time, Germany equalised. As the game was in the balance for a while, the visitors then completed the turnaround by taking the lead with just under a quarter of an hour of the game to play. Â

From there, they would see the game out, condemning Italy to a 2-1 defeat in the first leg at home, a very frustrating night from an Italian point of view.

In terms of Udogie himself, he played the 90 minutes, recording; 72 touches, one shot blocked, 2/2 aerial duels won, two fouls drawn, two clearances, one blocked shot, and one interception. With first choice left wing back, Federico Dimarco of Inter Milan injured, the likelihood is that the Spurs defender will start the return leg in Germany. Â

Feels fair to say that the 22-year old has divided opinion within the Spurs fanbase this season. He started the season very well, but since his first injury has not looked the same. To an extent, being overplayed, combined with the intense style of play has definitely played a part. However, just in general possession he has looked a lot sloppier than he did in his first season and at the start of this campaign. Â

Safe to say it will take a big performance from Italy to turn around the tie in that game. To lose at home is pretty tough to take. Nevertheless, they will have that chance on Sunday, at 19:45 GMT, so let’s see. Â

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Spurs international watch: Big win for midfielder's side

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Although there were a handful games on Wednesday, Thursday is when we really saw the first international break of 2025 kick off, with games taking place all across the world, in various different competitions. Â Â Â

On Thursday night, at around 21:00 GMT, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma and his Mali side were in African World Cup qualifying action, as they faced Comoros on the road. Heading into the game, Mali were in fourth place, with five points from four games, whilst their hosts were in second place, with nine points. Â

Yves Bissouma and his Mali side in action away to Comoros on Thursday

As usual, Bissouma, whom is the skipper of his side, was named in the starting XI by Mali manager Tom Saintfiet, seemingly playing in a role off of the right hand side in a 4231 formation. Â

After 20 minutes of the game, Mali took the lead, with the Spurs midfielder providing an assist. That goal was enough to go into the half time interval with a lead to hold onto. Â

Ten minutes into the second half, they doubled their lead. Then, after 63 minutes, they made it 3-0, with Bissouma providing his second assist of the game. With just over te minutes to go, the 28-year old was taken off for some rest. Â

From there, Mali saw the game out, coming away with an impressive and very important 3-0 victory in their first game of the break. They remain below their hosts in the qualifying group, but they are now only one point below, and now have better goal difference to go with that too. Â

Safe to say that Bissouma needed this. He has been really out of form for a while now, and was just stuck in a cycle of not being able to perform. Although a good performance against Comoros in World Cup qualifying does not mean he is definitely going to start performing for Spurs, but he definitely needed a performance like this, that can not be argued. Â

If nothing else, it could help improve his market value and attract more suitors in the summer – with it being the club’s last chance to get a fee for the player, with his contract set to run out in the summer of 2026. Â

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Spurs international watch: Skipper held to a frustrating draw

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At around 11:00 GMT on Thursday morning, and around 20:00 local time, Tottenham Hotspur captain Heung-Min Son was in action for the South Korea national team, as they hosted Oman in Seoul, for Asian World Cup 2026 qualifying. Â

As usual, the 32-year old skippered his national team, starting on the left hand side of a 4231 formation. There was no room for Yang Min-hyeok in the starting XI, with Hee-Chan Hwang of Wolverhampton Wanderers starting on the right hand side of the attack. Â

Captain and his side left with frustration after World Cup qualifier

Just as a pretty uneventful first half looked it was going to have the goalless scoreline to match, South Korea took the lead through Hwang four minutes before half time, which proved to be enough to give Son’s side a 1-0 lead heading into the break.Â

In the second half, South Korea continued to have more of the ball and more territory, but Oman equalised with ten minutes of normal time remaining to make it 1-1. From there, the visitors saw the game out, and picked up an important point. As for South Korea, a pretty disappointing result.Â

Regarding the Spurs players, Son played the whole 90 minutes, recording; 69 touches, three chances created, one shot on target, one shot off target, 3/5 successful dribbles, 6/10 ground duels won, two fouls drawn, one blocked shot, and one tackle. Min-hyeok remained an unused sub, as his wait for his senior international debut continues. Although, it is easy to forget he is still just 18 years of age.

Despite a frustrating draw, South Korea will end match day seven top of the group, regardless of how the other results play out – and they are still well on course to secure their qualification for the World Cup in North America next summer. Without Bayern Munich central defender Kim Min-jae, you always felt like they may have needed two goals to win this game. Â

Next up for Son and Min-hyeok's side is another home game, this time against Jordan, on Tuesday the 25th of March, at 11:00 GMT. If Jordan win their game later on today, they could actually go above South Korea with a win in that game, goal difference dependent. It was actually Jordan that knocked their East Asian counterparts out of the Asia Cup last year, with a 2-0 win in the semi finals.Â

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Five Spurs players named amongst best teenagers in the world

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In recent years, we have seen Spurs put serious emphasis on youngsters with their recruitment. They have signed players aged 22 or under from Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Croatia, France, within the Premier League, and in the Championship.

Some have said the approach has gone too far, and that Spurs need more players in their prime. However, what cannot be denied is that the club have a lot of extremely talented young players, and that could come to fruition in the next few years.

It would appear that media publication GOAL agree with this take, with five players contracted to Spurs making their top 50 wonderkid list - where they rank the 50 best players born on 1/1/2006 or later.

Five Spurs youngsters on GOAL list of current wonderkids in football

At 43, they have Yang Min-hyeok, currently on loan at QPR. The 18-year old scored 12 goals in 38 appearances during his time in the K-League, and has been called up to the South Korea national team for a second time this month, where he could make his debut in their World Cup qualifiers.

Spurs have had a South Korean superstar for the last decade. Perhaps they will have one for the next decade too. If he proves to be half as good as Heung-Min Son has been for the club, then it will be money well spent.

Meanwhile, at 26 they have Luka Vuskovic. Currently on loan at KVC Westerlo in the Belgian Pro League, the Croatian defender has been thriving, both defensively and with a knack for goals at the other end.

Although there is no guarantee he will be kept in the first team next season, Spurs will at least finally have him officially join the club regardless - with a deal having to be delayed until he was 18 due to Brexit rules. Fans are eager to see if he remains part of the squad, or sent out on loan - likely to one of the top five leagues.

Then, at 22 they have Mikey Moore. There has been plenty of excitement and hype around Moore for a while now, who when available has often been around the first team this season - scoring his first goal in a win over Elfsborg in the Europa League.

Some have criticised Ange for not giving the 17-year old more starts - should the Australian depart the club this season, it will be interesting to see how many opportunities he gets next season. Perhaps he will be sent on loan for his development.

Next up, at 16 they have Lucas Bergvall. Despite beig 18 for most of this season, the teenager has become a regular in the team - and last didn't play a game he was available for against Wolves in December.

Although more of a technical player, he is also quite tenacious, and made five interceptions during the win over AZ Alkmaar. He already has four caps for the Sweden national team despite being just 18 when he played those games.

Finally, at 13 - the highest ranked Spurs player on the list - Archie Gray. Just like Bergvall, he turned 19 earlier this year. Despite being a central midfielder, he has played everywhere but there, only making his first start of the season in midfield on Sunday - unfortunately next to the chuckle brothers.

Nevertheless, he has still had a number of impressive performances in defence, and fans are hoping that he will eventually get a run in the team in midfield, giving him the chance to show everyone what he is capable of.

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How the international break looks for every Spurs player

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So, here we are. From Thursday until Tuesday, there will be hundreds of international games taking place all over the world - from South America to Oceania. With it, there will also be several games for a number of Tottenham Hotspur players.

We have covered each and every call up (we think) individually, but in case you missed it - here is a quick round up of how the break looks for every Spurs player that has been called up - senior or youth, at the club or on loan, we've got you covered.

How the next week or so looks for each Tottenham Hotspur player

Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie have been called up to the Italy squad for their Nations League quarter final clash with Germany. The first leg, at home, will take place on Thursday, the 20th of March, and kick off at 19:45 GMT. The second leg will take place on Sunday, the 24th, at the same time.

Pedro Porro has been called up to the Spain squad for their Nations League quarter final tie with the Netherlands. Just like Italy - Germany, both games are on Thursday and Sunday at 19:45 GMT - with the second leg in Spain. Micky van de Ven is not in the Netherlands squad, and gets nearly three weeks rest.

Cristian Romero is in the Argentina squad for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil. They will play Uruguay on Friday, the 21st of March, at 23:30 GMT - and Brazil on Wednesday, the 26th, at 00:00 GMT.

Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson are in the Wales squad for World Cup qualifiers at home to Kazakhstan and away to North Macedonia. They will play Kazakhstan on Saturday, the 22nd of March, at 19:45 GMT, and North Macedonia, on Tuesday, the 25th, at 19:45 GMT.

Ashley Phillips and Dane Scarlett are in the England U20 squad for U20 elite league games away to Portugal and at home to Switzerland. They will face Portugal on Friday, the 21st of March at 16:00 GMT, and Switzerland on Monday, the 24th, at 19:00 GMT.

Archie Gray is in the England U21 squad for friendlies against France and Portugal. They will play France away from home on Friday, the 21st of March at 20:00 GMT, and Portugal at home on Tuesday, the 24th, at 19:45 GMT.

Pape Matar Sarr is in the Senegal squad for World Cup qualifiers away to Sudan and at home to Togo. They will play Sudan on Saturday, the 22nd of March, at 19:00 GMT, and Togo on Tuesday, the 25th, at 21:00 GMT.

Yves Bissouma is in the Mali squad for World Cup qualifiers away to Comoros and Central African Republic. They will play Comoros on Thursday, the 20th of March, at 21:00 GMT, and Central African Republic on Monday, the 24th, at 16:00 GMT.

Rodrigo Bentancur is in the Uruguay squad for World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia. They will play Bolivia on Tuesday, the 25th of March, at 00:00 GMT.

Lucas Bergvall is in the Sweden squad for friendlies away to Luxembourg and at home to Northern Ireland - where he could come up against Spurs loanee Jamie Donley. They will play Luxembourg on Saturday, the 22nd of March, at 17:00 GMT, and Northern Ireland on Tuesday, the 25th at 18:00 GMT.

As mentioned there, Donley is in the Northern Ireland squad for friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden. They will host Switzerland on Friday, the 21st of March at 19:45 GMT.

Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel are in the France U21 squad for friendlies away to Slovakia and England. They will play Slovakia on Friday, the 21st of March, at 17:30 GMT.

Mikey Moore is in the England U19 squad for their elite round fixtures away to Wales, and at home to Turkey and Portugal. They will play Wales on Wednesday, the 19th of March at 19:00 GMT, at home to Turkey on Saturday, the 22nd, at 11:00 GMT, and Portugal on Tuesday, the 25th, at 19:00 GMT.

Dominic Solanke is in the England squad for World Cup qualifiers at home to Albania and Latvia. They will play Albania on Friday, the 21st of March, at 19:45 GMT, and Latvia on Monday, the 24th at the same time.

Finally, Heung-Min Son and Yang Min-hyeok are in the South Korea squad for World Cup qualifiers at home to Oman and Jordan. They will play Oman on Thursday, the 20th of March at 11:00 GMT, and Jordan on Tuesday the 25th, at 11:00 GMT.

We THINK that's it. Go well everyone.

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