Tottenham star Radu Dragusin produced a strong performance for Romania vs Cyprus
Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin delivered a commanding display as Romania thrashed Cyprus 4-1 in the UEFA Nations League. With that, they made it five wins in five in the Nations League, group 2 of League C.
Romania got off to a flying start with a goal in the second minute. They doubled the lead four minutes before half time. The second half started with changes by Cyprus and that worked wonders as they halved the deficit in the 52nd minute. However, Cyprus was left with one player less due to the sending-off of Konstantinos Laifis, and Romania responded with two more goals to make it 4-1.
Radu Dragusin marshalled the backline as Mircea Lucescu’s side lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. Defensively, the 22-year-old established his dominance with two duels won vs Cyprus. Additionally, the £85,000-per-week Spurs star made two clearances, two interceptions and one tackle to negate the Cyprus threats.
The Romanian showed good composure on the ball. He had 64 touches, completing 51 of 56 passes. It also amounted to a healthy 91 per cent pass accuracy, contributing to Romania’s 66% domination in possession and control. Dragusin also completed seven out of 11 long balls in just 68 minutes on the pitch. (Stats courtesy: SofaScore)
Overall, it was another strong outing in the national shirt for the Tottenham defender, building on his last month’s performance against Lithuania in the Nations League. This was extremely needed for Dragusin after being heavily criticised for his performance during Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Ipswich Town before the international break. It was his fault that allowed Liam Delap to score Ipswich’s second goal in the first half, which eventually turned out to be the winner.
The Bucharest-born talent has been majorly warming the benches at Tottenham since arriving from Genoa back in the January transfer window. The reality of the situation is that the defensive roster at the Hotspur Way has two undisputed starters in Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. This means Dragusin has had to be patient to get his opportunity under Ange Postecoglou.
This has led to speculation over the centre-back’s future in north London, with Serie A side Napoli showing interest in signing him in the winter window. However, when given opportunities, the hulky Romanian has failed to grab it with both hands, as evidenced by his poor displays against Ipswich and Galatasaray.
With Van de Ven on the sidelines and Cristian Romero suffering an injury on international duty before being released early by the Argentina camp, Postecoglou has become more reliant than ever on Dragusin. He will be trusted by Big Ange for the coming weeks, and Dragusin’s performance against Cyprus on Monday should have done a world of good for his confidence and morale.
