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Preview of Tottenham Trip to Dinamo Zagreb in Europa League

By Aaron Coe

Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane (R) scores the opening goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on March 11, 2021. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALASTAIR GRANT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane (R) scores the opening goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on March 11, 2021. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALASTAIR GRANT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Tottenham v Dinamo
Tottenham Hotspur’s English striker Harry Kane (R) scores the opening goal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on March 11, 2021. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALASTAIR GRANT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

By the end of the match, as Tottenham travels to Zagreb, Croatia to take on GNK Dinamo, only one team will still have the dream of being a European champion. And while March Madness is getting underway here in the States, the Lilywhites will want to jump on Dinamo early and make sure there is no Cinderella story on Spurs account. No matter who advances in the competition, it is relatively uncharted territory for both teams.

Who is Going to the Quarterfinals?

Both Dinamo and Tottenham have played more European games than most this season as qualifiers from the Europa League Playoffs. Dinamo actually started in the qualifiers for the Champions League but lost in the second round, placing them in the playoffs to make the Group Stages of the competition.

Tottenham of course took the long route, having three qualifying matches to reach the Group Stage but none as part of the Champions League. With both teams having played more than 10 matches in their European journey, there is nothing either want more than to play two more matches.

For Dinamo finding a way to overcome the two-goal deficit and advance would take the team further than they have ever been in a European competition. For the Spurs, they are looking to advance to the Quarterfinals for the Europa League for the first time since 2012-13 and win a second knockout match for the first time since their own Cinderella run to the Champions League Final.

Ultimately, the team that is able to handle the moment the best the quickest will have the advantage. If that is Tottenham and they can get that critical away goal, the Spurs can put the match to bed early. If the first goal comes from Dinamo, almost anything can happen after that as the nerves will grow along with the Croatians confidence. So should we expect Thursday afternoon?

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