Spurs have got a wealth of internationals currently on their books, but one player in particular who earned his first cap yesterday has come under the radar – and many fans probably don’t even know it happened.
Under 23’s defender Maksim Paskotši, who turned 18 in January, earned his first senior cap for his country Estonia, as they lost 6-2 to Czech Republic – a game where West Ham midfielder Tomáš Souček netted a hat-trick.
Re: Maksim Paskotši
This is his first game in senior mens football
He did not play a single minute in Estonian highest division before moving to #THFC
With the Covid drop outs in the Estonia squad it is practically a 'C' team tonight but what an amazing opportunity for Makism https://t.co/GJHgMIKxwb
— Lilywhite Rose (@Lilywhite_Rose) March 24, 2021
Despite what the scoreline would suggest, Paskotši had a solid outing and played particularly well given the Estonia squad had been hit with COVID-19 issues – which included their head coach testing positive.
Out of all the Estonian defenders and goalkeeper too, the promising defender finished the game with the highest match rating which was 6.0 – an impressive feat for an international debutant who has been on the receiving end of a humbling by a team who are 66 places higher in the current FIFA World Rankings.
Maksim Paskotsi let down pic.twitter.com/aIbBR9nV7p
— Sofascore N Chill (@Kulusexxy) March 25, 2021
Paskotši could earn his second international cap on Saturday, as Estonia face a much more beatable opponent in the shape of Belarus at 5pm – with the game being a watchable option on Sky Sports Football in case you want to see how the youngster gets on.
After joining the club from current Estonian Premier Division, or the Meistriliiga, Champions FC Flora in the Summer, the centre-back has been a dominating force at the back for Tottenham U18s, scoring five goals in 14 U18 Premier League games.
Many are tipping the hot prospect to make his mark in the first team soon for Spurs, and his international appearance is an indication that good things will come for him, but first the club needs to manage his step-up to the U23s well enough to give him a better chance of making the cut.
https://twitter.com/THFCrw/status/1374833107690471424?s=20
They’ll know about him soon, big step for Paskotši 👏🏽
— RC 🇯🇲 (@ReeceAC_) March 24, 2021
https://twitter.com/THFCrw/status/1374821878653652994?s=20
Toby Alderweireld, Gareth Bale, Joe Rodon, Matt Doherty and Hugo Lloris were all in action last night, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Kane and Eric Dier could all feature for Denmark and England respectively this evening.