Spurs defender's Euros hopes are over

Micky Van De Ven and his Netherlands side will not be heading to Berlin for Sunday's European championship final.

'The Oranje' fell at the last with a devastating sucker punch from Aston Villa striker just as the clock hit 90'.

The Netherlands had taken an early lead through a wonder goal from Xavi Simons, but former Spurs striker Harry Kane leveled with a controversial penalty not long after.

The game remained 1-1 for a long time before Ollie Watkins was found by fellow substitute Cole Palmer inside the box. Watkins was very isolated but was able to turn away from Stefan De Vrij and cleanly strike the ball through the Dutch defenders' legs and into the far bottom corner to inflict heartbreak on Van De Ven and his Dutch counterparts.

Spurs' number 37 found himself as an unused substitute for a second time in the tournament. This coupled with 4 cameos off the bench means that Van De Ven heads home having not started a single game all tournament. Thinking selfishly, after a long and intense season that came with a serious hamstring injury, it is not a bad thing that the Spurs center-half was about to get a bit of a break and can be fully fresh for next season after a couple of weeks' holiday.

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Van De Ven would certainly have been better equipped to deal with a fresh and hungry Ollie Watkins than the solid but immobile Stefan De Vri would. But the Netherlands' loss is the Spurs' gain.

The block made against Turkey in the quarter-final victory that helped The Netherlands make the semi-final shows that Spurs have got a proper defender in an era where the art of defending is often lost on players, even defenders. Van De Ven is known mostly for his pace but has shown he is no speed merchant, and is a more than capable box defender.

Commiserations, Micky, let's get it next season!