International round-up: summing up the action from the start of the 26/27 season’s first break

I love international football.

Sometimes with football, it can be a bit of a struggle suffering through watching matches with athletically and technically limited players, combined with a lack of overall cohesion and simplified tactical setups.

But enough about Tottenham Hotspur; we now get the lovely palette cleanser that is the international break!

This international break is a little unusual: FIFA have merged the traditional September and October windows into a single three-week window. That’s largely a positive for both international teams, with more time to develop the aforementioned cohesion and tactical complexity; and Tottenham Hotspur, who are sorely in need of some time to invest in the same areas, as well as to build fitness across the squad.

Some of the squad, though, have been called away as per usual to represent their international sides, and therefore the best Spurs fans can hope for is that those players build some form and avoid injury. For a couple of Spurs’ international regulars, however, their international commitments have not materialized: Pedro Porro’s hamstring injury has prevented a Spain call-up; Mohammed Kudus has opted to stay with the club rather than turn out for Ghana to focus on fitness and conditioning; and Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie have been dropped from England’s and Italy’s squads, respectively.

In Europe, though, another instance of the Nations League has kicked off. Two of Spurs’ goalkeepers in the form of Antonin Kinsky and Martin Dubravka were unused substitutes for Czechia and Slovakia, respectively, as the Czechs fell to Croatia and Slovakia beat Moldova. Spurs’ Dutch defenders Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke both went the distance for Netherlands, drawing 1-1 with Germany, while Ben Davies did the same with Wales as he was reunited with ex-teammate Joao Palhinha in a loss to Portugal. Rounding out Spurs’ defensive representatives was Andy Robertson, who played the full 90 in a nil-all draw to Slovenia.

Elsewhere in Europe, there were big minutes for two of Spurs’ midfielders. Lucas Bergvall started and played out the match as Sweden defeated Romania 2-1, while Sandro Tonali was disappointing in a 90-minute effort as Italy went down to Belgium in a result that may have surprised some, with the Belgians scoring two and holding a clean sheet.

Outside of Europe, Spurs had a couple more players involved in international fixtures. Rodrigo Bentancur started for Uruguay in what was perhaps another surprise result, the South Americans falling apart at the death as Japan scored two late goals to collect a 3-1 friendly win. Omar Marmoush started on the bench for Egypt, but ended up subbing in before half-time as Egypt were unable to find a winner against Angola in their AFCON qualifying campaign.

All in all, a reasonably uneventful window for Spurs’ internationals thus far.

I love international football.

• Antonin Kinsky (unused sub): Czechia 1-2 Croatia – UEFA Nations League
• Martin Dubravka (unused sub): Slovakia 2-0 Moldova – UEFA Nations League
• Micky van de Ven (90 mins) & Jan Paul van Hecke (90 mins): Netherlands 1-1 Germany – UEFA Nations League
• Ben Davies (90 mins): Portugal 1-0 Wales – UEFA Nations League
• Andy Robertson (90 mins, clean sheet): Slovenia 0-0 Scotland – UEFA Nations League
• Lucas Bergvall (90 mins): Sweden 2-1 Romania – UEFA Nations League
• Sandro Tonali (90 mins): Italy 0-2 Belgium – UEFA Nations League
• Rodrigo Bentancur (79 mins): Japan 3-1 Uruguay – Friendly
• Omar Marmoush (50 mins, sub): Egypt 0-0 Angola – AFCON Qualification