It’s never a good thing to say that the international break has come at the perfect time for your football club, but the international break has come at the perfect time for Tottenham Hotspur all the same.
Ange Postecoglou is trying to whip his talented squad into shape this season but chequered form is preventing Spurs from making headway in the Premier League.
Having been defeated at home against newly-promoted Ipswich Town, who hitherto were winless in the top flight, there’s plenty for the craggy-faced Postecoglou to chew on.
He’ll need his players to return from international action refreshed and injury-free next week, but he’ll still be hoping for some positive performance that could reorient certain struggling players.
How Spurs players are getting on
Cristian Romero has looked out of sorts this season and he won’t be feeling any better after Argentina suffered a shock defeat against Paraguay. Albeit, the centre-half didn’t have all that much to do, winning his one contested duel and completing 95% of his passes, as per Sofascore, before being withdrawn at the break due to injury.
Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie‘s Italy side enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Belgium on Thursday evening in the Nations League, though neither started, the latter introduced for the final 20 minutes.
On Friday, Euro 2024 champions Spain passed a tough test in Denmark and Pedro Porro made his mark at right-back, discernibly deeper than he’s used by Postecoglou, something that he clearly favours stylistically.
Pedro Porro – Match Stats vs Denmark | |
|---|---|
Match Stats | # |
Minutes played | 90′ |
Touches | 79 |
Accurate passes | 51/57 (89%) |
Key passes | 2 |
Long balls (completed) | 10 (8) |
Tackles | 5 |
Interceptions | 2 |
Clearances | 4 |
Ground duels (won) | 9 (5) |
Stats via Sofascore | |
Over in Asia, Heung-min Son scored as South Korea defeated Kuwait 3-1. Also away from European competition, Yves Bissouma put in a barnstorming display for Mali against Mozambique in his country’s African Cup of Nations qualifier.
In a new role, he might just have been the pick of the Lilywhites bunch.
Yves Bissouma thrived in fresh role for Mali
Bissouma sits deep in Tottenham’s midfield, controlling and crunching ahead of the defensive partnership, typically Romero and Micky van de Ven. As per FBref, the 28-year-old ranks among the top 4% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and the top 7% for tackles won per 90.
A high-energy player with a shrewd eye for a goal, Bissouma might be as combative as they come but he’s also endowed with high-level technicals and was utilised further forward against Mozambique on Friday evening.
Across his five qualifying campaign matches for Mali so far, the £55k-per-week talent has averaged 30 passes per game in the opponent’s half, whereas just seven per match in his own.
Yves Bissouma – Mali Stats vs Mozambique | |
|---|---|
Match Stats | # |
Minutes played | 90′ |
Assists | 1 |
Shots (on target) | 3 (0) |
Touches | 69 |
Accurate passes | 39/45 (87%) |
Key passes | 3 |
Dribbles (completed) | 7 (4) |
Ground duels (won) | 15 (8) |
Stats via Sofascore | |
There’s perhaps something in that for Postecoglou, who could operate with Bissouma in front of the number six in a kind of roving role. He’s robust and dynamic enough, for sure, having won eight duels, completed four dribbles and picked up the crucial assist in Mali’s 1-0 triumph.
Ultimately, Premier League opponents will be made of sterner stuff, but Bissouma – whose nation have now qualified for next year’s AFCON – still produced an almighty performance and it’s one for his Spurs manager to consider going forward.
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