Expect to see Harry Kane leading the line for England; a second successive World Cup Golden Boot in his sights. Cristian Romero, meanwhile, will be one of the first names on Argentina’s star-studded team-sheet. And if dark horses Croatia or Uruguay are to run a respectable race in Qatar, they’ll need Ivan Perisic and Rodrigo Bentancur to explode out of the traps.
But, believe it or not, there are even more former Tottenham Hotspur players heading to the 2022 World Cup than there are current ones. A lot more. It’s not even close. From Gareth Bale to Luka Modric, Christian Eriksen to, erm, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou; here are all the familiar faces for Spurs fans to watch out for over the next few weeks.
Meet the 16 former Spurs players heading to the Qatar World Cup
Vincent Janssen and Steven Bergwijn – Netherlands
Between them, Janssen and Bergwijn set Spurs back over £40 million. Between them, Janssen and Bergwijn scored just nine Premier League goals. As you might imagine, then, it is their form on the international stage that has earned them the trust of Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal; Bergwijn netting six goals in his last six Oranje games alone.
Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier – England
With Reece James out of contention and Trent Alexander-Arnold not exactly earning Gareth Southgate’s trust, tournament regular Trippier looks set to start for the Three Lions in Monday’s opener vs Iran. Walker is destined to be an automatic pick, too, provided he is deemed fit enough after an injury-hit spell at Manchester City.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and DeAndre Yedlin – USA
Harry Kane will be reunited with two former Spurs team-mates in the group stage. At 29 Yedlin, who joined Tottenham on the back of some explosive performances in Brazil eight years go, is one of the senior heads in a youthful USMNT selection. Carter-Vickers could start against the country of his birth, meanwhile, following a fine run of form at Celtic.
Chris Gunter, Joe Rodon and Gareth Bale – Wales
It’s fair to say one member of Robert Page’s squad will stand out more than anyone else to Tottenham supporters when England face off against their old rivals on November 29th. Talisman Bale is not the only member of this Welsh squad with Spurs connections, however. Gunter, Wales’ most capped player of all time, spent 18 months in the capital between 2008 and 2009, while Rodon joined Rennes just last summer in a £17 million loan-to-buy deal.
Juan Foyth – Argentina
That Barcelona expressed an interest in Foyth a couple of months ago, via Cadena Ser, is testament to how far he’s come since leaving Tottenham for Villarreal. Foyth, a £9 million Mauricio Pochettino signing from Estudiantes, could have a big part to play for Argentina thanks to his flexibility and tactical intelligence.
Luka Modric – Croatia
What can we say about Modric that hasn’t been said already? At the age of 37, the evergreen Real Madrid maestro is doing something of a reverse-Ronaldo. The latter is ageing like a pint of milk left out in the Qatari sun. Modric, in contrast, is the finest of wines.
Georges-Kevin Nkoudou – Cameroon
Now of Besiktas, former Spurs misfit N’Koudou goes into his first World Cup with just one cap under his belt. The 27-year-old, France-born winger only recently changed his international allegiance to Cameroon.
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Milos Veljkovic – Serbia
Having played just twice for Spurs during the 2013/14 season, Veljkovic is certainly not one of the more instantly-recognisable names on this list. Basel’s former Werder Bremen defender is a big part of Serbia’s plans, however; one of the unsung heroes in an admittedly rather lopsided, attack-heavy team.
Christian Eriksen – Denmark
Like Modric and Trippier, Eriksen is heading to the Middle East in some of best form of his entire career. The balletic 30-year-old, arguably Manchester United’s most technically gifted midfielder since Paul Scholes’ heyday, scored his first goal for Erik Meet Ten Hag’s resurgent side last weekend.
Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen – Belgium
At 33 and 35 respectively, the 2022 World Cup has a ‘last chance saloon’ sort of vibe about it for two veteran centre-halves. Their vast experience could still come in very handy, however; this so-called Golden generation aiming to prove they are less ‘fool’s gold’ and more like the real thing.
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