As we enter the quarter final stage of the World Cup, I thought it would be worth carrying on our recent tradition here at VitalSpurs and taking another look at how Tottenham’s international stars are getting on.
There is surely only one place to start and that is Richarlison’s dazzling display in Brazil’s 4-1 demolition of South Korea. Brazil’s samba stars raced into a 4-0 lead in the first half with Richarlison’s goal – his third of the competition so far- arguably the pick of the bunch.
The Spurs forward spectacularly balanced the ball on his head before being played in behind by Thiago Silva and then calmly slotting the ball home into the far corner.
"Eye-catching, intricate… typically Brazilian!" 🇧🇷🙌
How good is Richarlison for this Brazil side?! 😲#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/IbJbKku3j2
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 5, 2022
Fellow Spurs forward Heung-Min Son also featured in the game but failed to really lay a glove on the Brazilian defence
Tottenham’s other South American compatriot – Cristian Romero – provided arguably his best performance of the competition so far, in his sides 2-1 win over Australia. Impressing so much so, that fellow teammate Lionel Messi believed the Spurs defender should have been awarded player of the match:
“Who would I give the MOTM other than me? It is difficult to mention a specific player, but if I have to mention a player, it is Cuti Romero. He is a prominent and experienced on the field.” (via @AlbicelesteTalk)
A Spurs player that did in fact receive a player of the match trophy, was England skipper Harry Kane. As the Tottenham talisman grabbed his first goal of the tournament, in England’s comfortable 3-0 win over Senegal. The game also saw centre-half Eric Dier feature for the Three Lions, making his second appearance of the tournament, when he came on for John Stones in the 76th minute.
Tottenham’s forgotten man – Pape Matar Sarr – also grabbed some minutes in the game, coming on at half-time. The youngster impressed showing Antonio Conte a small glimpse of what he could provide Tottenham, in the coming months.
After beating Senegal, England will of course play reigning World Cup champions France, who were 3-1 victors over Poland. Despite his side qualifying for the next round, Spurs shot stopper Hugo Lloris will arguably be slightly frustrated as he failed to register his first clean sheet of the competition.
Lloris saved Robert Lewandowski’s penalty late on, but the referee had deemed Lloris to have stepped off his line, too far. The Polish striker then stepped up to the penalty spot again but did not make the same mistake twice, as he calmly slotted away the retake.
From one Spurs veteran to another, Ivan Perisic was Croatia’s saviour as he grabbed his side’s equaliser against Japan, with fantastic header. Croatia would later go on to win the tie-on penalties, setting up a quarter final clash with Richarlison’s Brazil.