A full dozen Tottenham Hotspur players were participants when the World Cup started on 20 November; as the quarterfinals near, only six remain. Will one win the prize?
If the World Cup was a lottery and the clubs providing the players held the tickets, Tottenham Hotspur would have had a fair chance of winning. With 12 players represented at the Cup, Spurs were tied with Al Hilal for the 7th most players from a club, just one behind Real Madrid’s 13 participants. However, even for Bayer Munich, who had the most players participating at 17, as the competition moves forward, fewer and fewer representatives are left.
As the Cup enters the third weekend and the quarterfinals, only half of the 12 Tottenham players starting remain. Let’s look at who those six are and what shot they’ve got.
Can the Tottenham club captain defend his country’s title?
Longtime club captain Hugo Lloris is still the captain of Les Bleus as the French side look to defend their 2018 win in Russia. Neither Lloris nor his country has managed a clean sheet yet in this tournament, but France remains one of the favorites – second behind only Brazil, according to wynnbet.com.
France is looking to become only the third nation to win back-to-back World Cup titles and the first in 60 years. Brazil won consecutive tournaments in 1958 and 1962, and Italy won in 1934 and again in 1938.
Recent history tells us that Lloris is likely out of luck, but with Kylian Mbappe leading the way, Lloris may never get his shutout and still kiss the cup. If Hugo and France are to make history, they would be doing so at the expense of two of his teammates as Les Bleus play England on Saturday.
Tottenham has six players still participating in the World Cup. However, those six players represent only five countries, as Eric Dier and Harry Kane represent the Three Lions.
Can Kane and Dier help bring it home?
Harry Kane has been one of the stars of the Cup. Although our talisman only has one goal to his credit, his three assists equal him with Bruno Fernandes for the most thus far in the tournament. There is no doubt that Kane’s dropping deep has been problematic for teams in the tournament, and Senegal had no answer for his distribution.
The playmaking ability we Spurs fans have known about and enjoyed for many seasons is truly on display for the world, and one hopes it can change some of the negative perceptions surrounding him. Further, the goal Kane did score was just outstanding. The calm and confidence on display should buoy the spirits of everyone in England, that yes, maybe it is coming home.
While Kane has had an outstanding tournament, Eric Dier has had a much more reserved role. Playing only 36 minutes across two appearances, Dier has seen limited time in defense. However, neither John Stones nor Harry Maguire is exactly known as a player who never misses a match.
It is conceivable that Dier could see some minutes in defense, but what may be more likely would be Dier coming on late in a match as a substitute. Dier has the experience of scoring the winning penalty against Colombia in 2018. That experience could be something Gareth Southgate and the team require as the tournament progresses.
While at least one, if not two, Spurs will be eliminated on Saturday when England faces France, at least one more will be eliminated on Friday, as three other Tottenham players participate in the continued competition.
Can Romero and Argentina continue their run for Messi?
Just behind France, but in front of England in the Vegas odds, sits one of only two South American countries remaining, Argentina.
Spurs defender Cristian Romero has been starting for Argentina but has not been himself. Some may have questioned the legitimacy of Romero’s injury heading into the World Cup; however, watching him play, it is obvious he is still not quite right. Although he has improved with his conditioning as the tournament has progressed, his ability to stay on the field and be effective will have a major impact on the Albicelestes’ success.
Perisic is still doing his part for Croatia
Ivan Perisic and Croatia are among the most experienced international teams in the competition. Perisic did his part in the Round of 16, scoring a beautiful header from near the edge of the box. His ability to generate the power and accuracy to score from the distance he did was a testament to his skill.
Although an experienced side and finalist in 2018, Croatia is, with Morocco, the longest of shots to win the tournament. That is mostly because Perisic and Croatia are facing a fellow Spur and tournament favorites Brazil on Friday.
Can Richy continue his run in the cup?
Richarlison and Brazil remain the favorites to win the cup, and much of that is based on the strength of the Spurs striker. Richy has had an outstanding tournament, scoring three goals thus far. Above and beyond the three goals was the nature of two, which were flat-out magnificent.
Richy’s bicycle kick in the first game against Serbia and his start and finish to an outstanding team move against South Korea will be on highlight reels for years to come. Of course, Richarlison scored both goals in the opening win, but the acrobatics of the first goal will be what people remember.
Ultimately, if Richarlison’s teammate Neymar can stay on the field and effectively, he gets fouled more than Shaq at the end of a close basketball game, Brazil should take home the crown they are favored to win.
While not all six Spurs players will still have the dream alive after this weekend, we know at least a couple will; the question is which ones.