Spurs international watch: Rest for defender, goal for loanee
By Tom Vinall
On Monday evening, Pedro Porro's Spain side were in action for their final UEFA nations league group game of this campaign, as they welcomed European Championship quarter-finalists Switzerland to Tenerife.
On Friday night, Spain secured their place as group winners, setting up a quarter-final tie against a runner up of another group - which could be Gugilelmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie's Italy side. As a result of top spot being all wrapped up, manager Luis De La Fuente made a host of changes to his usual starting XI for this one.
That included Porro, who was named on the bench, with Oscar Mingueza of Celta Vigo starting in his place. The Spurs defender being rotated out of the side in a dead rubber game just goes to show how important he has become under De La Fuente in the last couple of Spain camps.
Some deserved rest for defender, a goal for loanee winger
As far as the game went, it was a crazy 90 minutes. Spain would twice be pegged back by their vistors after taking the lead, before a penalty in stoppage time gave them all three points. The second Spain goal was scored by Spurs loanee Bryan Gil, who had come on for Nico Williams fewer than ten minutes beforehand - a great moment for him.
In terms of rest, it has been a pretty good international break from a Spurs point of view. Porro getting rest here, Solanke totalling 15 minutes across two games, Udogie only totalling another 20 or so minutes in two games. Pape Sarr only played eight minutes in Senegal's first game, with their showdown with Burkina Faso also being a dead rubber. Even Heung-Min Son only played 64 minutes of South Korea's win away to Kuwait.
You would have to say these players being rest has been pretty needed, with Rodrigo Bentancur now being unavilable for seven games (though Spurs can appeal that), and Wilson Odobert having hamstring surgery. Ange's side are pretty stretched at the moment, so they can take anything they can get.
The only downside to this break so far has been Cristian Romero going away with Argentina, and picking up an injury in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying defeat away to Paraguay. The defender has since returned to North London, though we will see if he is available for the game against Manchester City this coming Saturday.
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