With the end of the national team commitments, the focus now shifts to club football and the upcoming European ties in wait. Tottenham Hotspur have had a fair few players representing their respective countries, as we reflect on their performance in national team colours.
Harry Kane continues hot England streak
While all eyes were on Wayne Rooney following his equalling and then eclipsing of the long-standing England goalscoring record of Bobby Charlton, Tottenham’s main man Kane too popped up with two goals in two half hour cameos for the Three Lions. In both of England’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Switzerland, Kane came off the bench on the hour mark and notched his second and third England goals of his career.
The only other Spurs player called up for the two England games was midfielder Ryan Mason, who warmed the bench in both games.
Lloris leads France to back-to-back wins
Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saw plenty action for France as the Euro 2016 hosts played out two friendlies and came out winners in both. Lloris, who is the Les Bleus captain, kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Portugal on Friday while playing his part in seeing off Serbia 2-1 in Bordeaux on Monday.
Davies revels with Welsh history-makers
Left-back Ben Davies played the full 90 minutes in both of Wales’ Euro 2016 qualifiers against Cyprus and Israel. With the Welsh all but securing a place in what will be their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, Davies has a chance to be part of his country’s history and folklore. Although they have to wait until their qualification is confirmed, which looks a formality now with only two games remaining.
Hat-trick hero Son
Spurs’ latest summer acquisition Heung-Min Son made quite a few noises and did his best to raise the level of excitement about him at White Hart Lane by netting a hat-trick against Laos in a resounding 8-0 win for South Korea in their World Cup qualifier in Seoul. The 23-year-old was absent for the Taegeuk Warriors’ second game of the international break against Lebanon.
Central defensive pair key in Belgium wins, Chadli benched
Like Wales, Belgium too inched closer to qualifying for Euro 2016 after two solid wins over Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld both played the full minutes in the two games, while winger Nacer Chadli was surprisingly an unused substitute for the Red Devils. However, the two centre-backs played as full-backs for Belgium, as coach Marc Wilmots preferred the pairing of Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen in the centre.
Lamela in Argentina romp
Argentina played out a couple friendlies in the United States against Bolivia and Mexico. Erik Lamela started and played 77 minutes in a 7-0 cruise against Bolivia in Texas on Saturday. However, he failed to feature in Argentina’s following fixture against Mexico earlier today as both teams played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
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