Tottenham Hotspur right back Pedro Porro came under heavy fire during the 2025/26 Premier League season for his uneven performances, defensive lapses, inaccurate crosses, and poor attitude and leadership as the club were falling apart at the seams under the doomed so called leadership of manager Thomas Frank.
But diehard Spurs fans quickly noticed the turnaround in attitude and performances of Porro under Roberto De Zerbi, with the Spanish right back performing better than arguably anyone on the pitch when Spurs confirmed their Premier League safety with a gutsy 1-0 win over Everton on Matchday 38.
This summer, on a truly competent team in Spain, Porro has been playing his best football and looking like the top right back on the planet. Porro has been as good as any player not named Jude Bellingham at the World Cup, as he stole the shine from record breaking French national team striker Kylian Mbappe during Spain's commanding 2-0 win ove Les Bleus.
Pedro Porro can play great defense after all
Porro kept Mbappe and Bradley Barcola, a potential Tottenham Hotspur dream transfer target, at bay with another excellent one on one defensive performance. And just as well, he sealed the win for La Roja with a 58th minute goal, finishing better than Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele did in this World Cup semifinal for France.
It was no surprise to see Pedro Porro hoist the official Man of the Match award, as many thought he should have won it in the quarterfinals for what he did to Belgium in their 2-1 win over Jeremy Doku and Co.
What Porro has done against Bradley Barcola, Kylian Mbappe, Jeremy Doku, and pretty much all comers on that right flank is prove unequivocally that he is a great defensive right back and one of the best in the world at winning duels, which was a common criticism of him during the 2025/26 Premier League season - and even before that.
Roberto De Zerbi already knew Porro is destined to become a huge star at right back, making the Spanish international untouchable even before the World Cup when Real Madrid and Manchester City were registering interest in the 26 year old again.
But now, Porro has sent the message that the biggest question about his game, his defense on an island against the best wide forwards in world football, has been answered emphatically. Porro proved that even the explosive French attack can be quelled, and if he can defend like this for Tottenham Hotspur, the Lilywhites have little to fear defensively in 2026/27.
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