Tottenham’s players are spread across four continents this international break, and two of the fixtures will set Spurs team-mates against each other before they are back at Hotspur Way.
The club published the full list of call-ups on Monday. Pedro Porro takes on Antonin Kinsky when Spain visit the Czech Republic on Thursday, Ben Davies meets Mateus Fernandes when Portugal visit Wales a week today, and Andy Robertson is two games from a Scotland record.
The first-team players are due back for Ipswich Town at home on Saturday 21 November, without Mathys Tel, who has pulled out of France Under-21 duty with his ankle injury.
Porro vs Kinsky, then Porro vs England
Porro has the busiest week of the senior group. Spain play the Czech Republic away in the Nations League on Thursday at 7.45pm UK time, with Kinsky in the Czech squad, and then host England on Sunday at the same time.
Kinsky goes from facing his club team-mate to an away trip to Croatia on Sunday. After his display at Elland Road, where he was one of the few Spurs players to come out of the defeat with credit in our player ratings, it is a chance to keep that form going before the Premier League restarts.
Is Mateus Fernandes back in the Portugal squad?
Yes. Jorge Jesus recalled him on Friday for the first time since April, after he had been impressing for Portugal’s Under-21s. It was also the first senior squad since Cristiano Ronaldo retired from international football on 5 November, with Bernardo Silva taking over as captain.
Portugal are top of their Nations League group on 12 points from four wins and already sure of a quarter-final place. They host Denmark in Braga on Saturday, then travel to Wales on Tuesday 17 November, where Ben Davies should be waiting. Craig Bellamy’s side go to Norway first, on Saturday at 5pm.
With the group already won, Jesus has room to give minutes to the players coming back in, and Mateus is one of them. A run-out against Davies in Wales would be quite the way to mark his return.
Andy Robertson and the Kenny Dalglish record
Robertson, Scotland’s captain since 2018, is close to taking the men’s caps record from Kenny Dalglish. If he plays in both games this month, at home to North Macedonia on Friday and away to Switzerland on Monday, he will have it.
Scotland’s form under Sebastien Pocognoli has been mixed, with one win, one draw and two defeats in his four games, so Robertson’s experience is needed as much as ever. Former Scotland boss Alex McLeish, who made him captain, called him “an absolute stalwart over the years” this week.
Kulusevski, Bentancur and the long trips
Dejan Kulusevski is back with Sweden for the first time in two years, as we covered when Graham Potter brought him back after his long lay-off. Sweden host Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday and visit Poland on Tuesday.
The travel to keep an eye on belongs to Rodrigo Bentancur and Tyrese Hall. Bentancur plays Argentina away on Friday night and then the Dominican Republic at home, a game that kicks off at 11.30pm UK time on Tuesday. Hall’s Jamaica face Mexico twice in the CONCACAF Nations League, the second of them at 2.30am UK time on Wednesday. Both then have to get back to London in time for Ipswich.
Full list: Tottenham players on international duty
Here is every senior and Under-21 game involving our players, with UK kick-off times. Guglielmo Vicario and Radu Dragusin are included as Spurs players out on loan.
| Date | Spurs player(s) | Match | Kick-off (UK) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 12 Nov | Mohammed Kudus | Ghana vs Somalia (AFCON qualifier) | 3pm |
| Thu 12 Nov | Pape Matar Sarr | Senegal vs Sudan (AFCON qualifier) | 7pm |
| Thu 12 Nov | Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro | Czech Republic vs Spain (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Thu 12 Nov | Sandro Tonali, Guglielmo Vicario | Italy vs France (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Fri 13 Nov | Omar Marmoush | Egypt vs Malawi (AFCON qualifier) | 7pm |
| Fri 13 Nov | Archie Gray, Mikey Moore | England U21 vs Portugal U21 (friendly) | 7.30pm |
| Fri 13 Nov | Andy Robertson | Scotland vs North Macedonia (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Fri 13 Nov | Micky van de Ven, Jan Paul van Hecke | Netherlands vs Greece (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Fri 13 Nov | Rodrigo Bentancur | Argentina vs Uruguay (friendly) | 11pm |
| Sat 14 Nov | Ben Davies | Norway vs Wales (Nations League) | 5pm |
| Sat 14 Nov | Mateus Fernandes | Portugal vs Denmark (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sat 14 Nov | Dejan Kulusevski | Sweden vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sat 14 Nov | Kevin Danso | Austria vs Republic of Ireland (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sat 14 Nov | Radu Dragusin | Romania vs Poland (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sat 14 Nov | Jamie Donley | Northern Ireland vs Ukraine (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sun 15 Nov | Tyrese Hall | Jamaica vs Mexico (CONCACAF Nations League) | 1am |
| Sun 15 Nov | Pedro Porro | Spain vs England (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sun 15 Nov | Antonin Kinsky | Croatia vs Czech Republic (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Sun 15 Nov | Sandro Tonali, Guglielmo Vicario | Belgium vs Italy (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Mon 16 Nov | Pape Matar Sarr | Sudan vs Senegal (AFCON qualifier) | 1pm |
| Mon 16 Nov | Mohammed Kudus | Ghana vs Somalia, in Ghana (AFCON qualifier) | 3pm |
| Mon 16 Nov | Archie Gray, Mikey Moore | England U21 vs France U21 (friendly) | 7.30pm |
| Mon 16 Nov | Andy Robertson | Switzerland vs Scotland (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Mon 16 Nov | Micky van de Ven, Jan Paul van Hecke | Germany vs Netherlands (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Omar Marmoush | Malawi vs Egypt (AFCON qualifier) | 1pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Ben Davies, Mateus Fernandes | Wales vs Portugal (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Dejan Kulusevski | Poland vs Sweden (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Kevin Danso | Austria vs Israel, in Hungary (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Radu Dragusin | Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Romania (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Jamie Donley | Hungary vs Northern Ireland (Nations League) | 7.45pm |
| Tue 17 Nov | Rodrigo Bentancur | Uruguay vs Dominican Republic (friendly) | 11.30pm |
| Wed 18 Nov | Tyrese Hall | Mexico vs Jamaica (CONCACAF Nations League) | 2.30am |
The academy players away this month
Several of the younger players are away too. Luca Williams-Barnett, fresh from his Premier League debut, is with England’s Under-19s for European Championship qualifiers against Slovenia, Belarus and Austria in Austria. Oliver Boast and Oscar Sandiford play three friendlies in Spain for England’s Under-18s, and Mikel Jack, George Jobling and Kwasi Senyah have three Under-17 qualifiers at home for England.
George Feeney (Northern Ireland Under-19s), Armend Muslika (Albania Under-19s), Oliver Salter (Wales Under-19s) and Ted Evans (Wales Under-17s) all have qualifiers too.
Who stays behind at Hotspur Way?
Not everyone is travelling. Martin Dubravka, Marcos Senesi, Destiny Udogie, Tosin Adarabioyo, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke and Savio all stay in London, which gives De Zerbi a small group to work with for the next week or so.
Lucas Bergvall, Mykhailo Mudryk, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are still working through their injuries. For Maddison, who has not come off the bench in the last two games, and for Solanke and Gallagher, ten days of close work with the head coach is a chance to push for a start against Ipswich.
Who should Tottenham worry about this break?
The real worry is not who is away but who comes back tired. Porro has two big games in four days, Van de Ven and Van Hecke finish in Germany on the Monday night, and Bentancur and Hall have long-haul trips that end only days before Ipswich.
RDZ will be in the stands for that one, serving his touchline ban, so the less he has to patch up on the Thursday and Friday before, the better. The ideal outcome is simple: everyone home in one piece, Robertson with a record in his pocket, and Mateus with a reminder for his club manager of what he can do.
