As the second round of World Cup games comes to a close, I thought it would be timely to take another look at how Tottenham’s World Cup stars are getting on in Qatar.
Ivan Perisic takes the crown of Tottenham’s best of performer of matchday two as he provided two assists in Croatia’s vital 4-1 win over Canada. The Spurs wing-back gave the Canadian right-back problems all night, constantly getting to the by-line and delivering for his side.
Having received a knock last week against Iran, Harry Kane headed into the USA game with many fans doubting whether he was actually fully fit. Those doubters would turn-out to be right as Kane did not look sharp at all in England’s disappointing 0-0 draw with the US.
The other game in group B saw heartache for Spurs defenders Ben Davies and Joe Rodon as Wales conceded two late goals in there 2-0 defeat to Iran, meaning qualification to the knockout rounds now looks virtually impossible.
Hugo Lloris and France continued their good start to the tournament beating a resilient Denmark 2-1. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s Denmark now need to beat Australia to have any chance of progressing from group D.
After his poor performance against Saudi Arabia, Cristian Romero dropped to the bench for his sides game against Mexico. However, Romero would come on as a second half substitute as Argentina were comfortable 2-0 winners against rivals Mexico.
Staying in South America, Richarlison could not replicate his heroics of matchday one, despite his Brazil side still securing the 1-0 win – with Casemiro’s late goal guarantying the Selecao’s place in the knockouts.
Tottenham’s third and final South American representative – Rodrigo Bentancur – could not prevent his side slumping to a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Portugal. The Spurs midfielder performed admirably, nearly grabbing the opener early on, but his side did not have enough attacking thrust to really threaten the Portugal backline.
The other game in group H saw Heung-Min Son’s South Korea side left heartbroken after fighting back from 2-0 down, they eventually lost 3-2 thanks to a winning goal from Spurs transfer target Mohammed Kudus. Son will likely look back at the tournament with regret as he has really failed to make his mark in Qatar.
I thought it would be best to end the round-up on a positive note, with Pape Matar Sarr making his first-ever World Cup appearance in Senegal’s 3-1 over Qatar. The 20-year-old – who has failed to play a single minute for Spurs this season – came on as a substitute in the 78th minute and will hope he can see more minutes in Senegal’s crucial clash with Ecuador.