As the group stage comes to a close and we head into the business end of the competition, I thought it would be worth taking another look at how Tottenham’s World Cup stars are getting on.
The award for Spurs’ best performer of matchday three, undoubtedly has to go to Heung-Min Son – as he was instrumental in South Korea’s historic 2-1 win over Portugal. Son – who had failed to impress in South Korea’s first two games – stepped up for his country when they needed him most. The 30-year-old raced forward with the ball and slotted a perfect pass behind the Portugal defence, to set Hwang Hee-Chan for the winner – sending the South Koreans into the knockout stage.
That result of course meant heartbreak for Rodrigo Bentancur’s Uruguay, with South Korea’s victory meaning they would be heading home – much to the delight of the Ghanaians. Bentancur featured in Uruguay’s 2-0 over Ghana but sadly for Spurs, he went off injured mid-way through the first half – with the extent of the injury not known, so far.
Harry Kane is another player who has recently struggled with injuries, but he was fit enough to start against Wales. Despite the Spurs striker failing to score again, he provided another assist for his teammates – setting up Phil Foden for England’s second in there 3-0 win against Wales. That assist now meaning he sits top of the World Cup assist charts, with three.
Tottenham defenders Ben Davies and Joe Rodon also featured in the game, with the defeat meaning Wales’ first World Cup campaign in 64 years ends in dismay, exiting at the group stage.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg faced similar disappointment as he and his Denmark side slumped to 1-0 defeat against Australia, which secured Socceroos qualification to the knockout rounds ahead of the Danes- who ended up finishing bottom of group D.
Things are a bit brighter for Cristian Romero as he returned to the starting line-up in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Poland, after he had previously been dropped for the Mexico game. Romero – who struggled in Argentina’s opener against Saudi Arabia – seemed much more like himself, providing a very solid performance and keeping Polish danger man Robert Lewandowski quiet throughout.
Tottenham’s star performer of matchday two Ivan Perisic, started again for Croatia as his side progressed to the knockout rounds after a well-fought 0-0 draw with Belgium.
And to round off, Richarlison and Hugo Lloris, both earned themselves a well-deserved rest as both Brazil and France heavily rotated their sides, having already qualified for the knock-out stages.