I hate international football.
But the Euros are a time when I hate it less, especially as the level of football tends to be higher than say, England beating up on Gibraltar, and the placement of the tournament outside of the regular season means I am less terrified of a Spurs player picking up a season-ending injury.
Oh, and there’s a handful of Tottenham Hotspur players involved, so I guess there’s that. With the group stage of the tournament coming to a close, and the Copa America also in full swing, let’s check out how our Spurs internationals are faring.
One of the stars of the Euros so far has been Radu Dragusin. He has been a shining light at the back for Romania as they qualified for the knockout stages top of their group (one which included Belgium, at that). With many pundits and media outlets including Dragusin in their team of the tournament, it’s been a great opportunity for the Romanian to show what he can do after struggling for minutes following his transfer from Genoa. Praise aside, it hasn’t been all sunshine and lollipops for Dragon though, as Romania qualified on goal difference, winning only one game (where they kept a clean sheet). It’ll get much tougher in the coming rounds, and in their big test against Belgium, Romania crumbled to a 2-0 defeat, with Dragusin culpable on Kevin de Bruyne’s goal late in the match.
Another who tends to step up at international level is Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, with this tournament no exception. He’s been a key part of Denmark’s march towards the knockouts, playing big minutes across all three of their matches and with arguably a player of the match performance in a 1-1 draw against England. The Danes were another side possibly lucky to move forward in the competition, however, with three draws enough to get them through and ensuring more time for Spurs’ own Viking to showcase himself as he looks for a transfer this summer.
For Spurs’ two other European representatives, it’s been a quiet tournament – but one that is also continuing, much like Hojbjerg and Dragusin. Micky van de Ven has found himself coming off the bench for the Netherlands, with Dutch coach Ronald Koeman opting for a center back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Stefan de Vrij. The Dutch were another lucky side, finishing third in their group but securing enough points to make it through to the next stage. Guglielmo Vicario is the final Spurs player to be involved, if you can call it that, with the Italian keeper not seeing the pitch at all as Italy qualified second behind Spain in Group B, with a solitary win against Albania (and involved in a dramatic match against Croatia to seal former Spurs Ivan Perisic’s and Luka Modric’s exit from the tournament).
We can’t forget our American friends, of course, and over on the other side of the world three Spurs players have been involved in the Copa America. With the group stage still underway, Rodrigo Bentancur has been usurped in Uruguay’s XI on his return from his extended injury lay-off, with PSG’s Manuel Ugarte and Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde preferred in the center of the park. Bentancur has made his limited minutes count, however, scoring moments after being subbed on against Bolivia.
Lastly, Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso have been heavily involved in Argentina’s Copa campaign. Romero has been immense for Argentina, as they have kept clean sheets in both of their opening fixtures, also popping up with a delightful assist in a friendly in the lead-up to the tournament. Gio’s minutes have been slightly more circumspect, coming off the bench in both matches to see out the match.
The bad news here is that all of our Tottenham internationals are going to see more minutes on international duty. The good news here is that all of our Tottenham internationals are going to see more minutes on international duty! Here’s hoping they taste success and are inspired to replicate that as we head into next season.
I hate international football.
Spurs International Appearances:
Euros
- Radu Dragusin (90 mins x 3): Romania 3-0 Ukraine, Belgium 2-0 Romania, Slovakia 1-1 Romania
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (84 mins; 90 mins x 2): Slovenia 1-1 Denmark, Denmark 1-1 England, Denmark 0-0 Serbia
- Micky van de Ven (3 mins, sub; unused substitute; 25 mins, sub): Poland 1-2 Netherlands, Netherlands 0-0 France, Netherlands 2-3 Austria
- Guglielmo Vicario (unused substitute x 3): Italy 2-1 Albania, Spain 1-0 Italy, Croatia 1-1 Italy
Copa America
- Rodrigo Bentancur (5 mins, sub; 4 mins, sub, goal): Uruguay 3-1 Panama, Uruguay 5-0 Bolivia
- Giovani Lo Celso (22 mins, sub; 26 mins, sub) & Cristian Romero (90 mins x 2): Argentina 2-0 Canada, Chile 0-1 Argentina