Tottenham Hotspur fans were watching the match between England and Croatia at the World Cup intently, not just to see the England national team and their legendary striker Harry Kane in action, but mostly to watch Luka Vuskovic face Premier League level competition.
Now, Vuskovic has dealt with plenty of top players in the Bundesliga, including Bayern Munich's Kane himself, but facing an entire XI of the caliber of players that he would face week in and week out as a Tottenham player in the Premier League would potentiall be illuminating.
And it was. While Vuskovic did a great job of winning possession in the build up to Croatia's first goal and had a nice block on the break for Noni Madueke, he ended up having a very mediocre performance before being subbed off.
Luka Vuskovic is not Roberto De Zerbi's pick just yet
Now, the traits are clearly there for Luka Vuskovic to become a world class player, and a 19 year old center back does not become one of the top players in the Bundesliga in just his first senior season by fluke.
However, Roberto De Zerbi looks totally justified in not seeing Vuskovic as a regular starter in the Premier League next season and instead paying 60 million euros to sign his old Brighton star Jan Paul van Hecke to be the main man next to Micky van de Ven in the 2026/27 season.
Vuskovic is not ready for the big time in the Premier League just yet. He is not quick enough turning, his progression against more compact teams with better midfields needs to improve, and he can get caught out because of his lack of speed.
He passed accurately but too simplistically. He read the game well but was not actually active and assertive enough in winning possession, getting outsmarted on a few occasions off the ball by Harry Kane, too.
While Vuskovic did not fail this test and did not at all look out of place at the elite level as just a 19 year old in defense, he also proved that he is not ready to be a top, top player and a Tottenham Hotspur level starting center back in 2026.
Roberto De Zerbi wants to see him get some more seasoning before coming back and being at his best so he can potentially start for Tottenham, and after watching England vs. Croatia, it is apparent to see that while Vuskovic is special, De Zerbi is right.
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