Opinion: Ranking the 11 Tottenham players who went to the World Cup

Tottenham Hotspur had the 10^th most players at the 2022 World Cup, with 11 players covering 10 different nations. In this list, I will be covering all 11 players and ranking them from the best to worst.

From World Cup winners to group-stage eliminations, the Tottenham players in Qatar had very different experiences.

1^st – Cristian Romero (Argentina):

 Romero’s World Cup started in the worst possible way, at fault for a goal in a 2-1 opening game loss to Saudi Arabia. He was then dropped for their next game but has been an ever-present in the starting 11 since. His performance in the final was perhaps his best all tournament, defending excellently and effortlessly. As the third Tottenham player in history to win the World Cup, he had to be top of this list.

2^nd – Hugo Lloris (France):

Similarly to the World Cup final, the French captain takes second place in the list. Lloris was outed as Frances ‘weak link’ by many before facing England in the quarter-final, to then put in a fantastic goalkeeping display, only conceding to a Harry Kane penalty. In the final, he made several top saves, including a great save from a Messi shot in the last seconds of normal time.

3^rd – Richarlison (Brazil):

Richarlison started the tournament on fire, scoring both goals for the pre-tournament favourites Brazil in their opening game, including a bicycle kick which will potentially win the goal of the tournament. He added a third goal in their round-of-16 tie against South Korea, finishing off a great Brazil move. His all-round play saw him become a fan favourite in Brazil over the tournament.

4^th – Harry Kane (England):

Harry Kane’s 2022 World Cup will only be remembered for his late penalty miss against France in years to come, however, his overall tournament was an impressive one.

Despite only scoring twice, he provided three assists in the group stages and played a key role in England’s three wins at the World Cup. It wasn’t a repeat of the golden boot like he won in 2018, but perhaps his performances were better than the ones four years ago.

5^th – Ivan Perisic (Croatia): 

Croatia struggled up top all tournament, but when needed Perisic stepped up for his country. An equaliser against Japan in a game that Croatia went on to win on penalties was key. He was a constant threat for Croatia, playing out at left wing and dropping to left back occasionally. He became Croatia’s top tournament goal scorer in their history.

6^th – Rodrigo Bentancur (Uruguay):

Rodrigo Bentancur’s Uruguay were tipped to be many people’s dark horses pre-tournament, however, they failed to get through the group. Bentancur was undoubtedly Uruguay’s best player, despite only playing three games, coming off early in the third.

He nearly scored one of the goals of the tournament, when against Portugal he weaved his way through several players but had his shot saved by the keeper. He also made the most ball recoveries in a game in the 21^st century against Portugal.

7^th Heung-Min Son (South Korea):

After his injury against Marseille, Son’s participation in the World Cup was a doubt. He ended up starting all four games for South Korea, with his moment being the 91st-minute assist for Wolves’ Hwang-Hee Chan, an assist that gave them a 2-1 win against Germany and progression to the knockouts.

8^th – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Denmark):

Hard to say much about Hojbjerg’s World Cup, which is the reason he is so low in the list. Denmark finished bottom of their group and only scored one goal. Hojbjerg did not stand out at all in a disappointing Denmark side.

9^th – Ben Davies (Wales) 

Ben Davies had a World Cup to forget. Wales’s first World Cup in 64 years had them end up winless and bottom of their group, including a 3-0 loss to England. Davies made a mistake leading up to one of England’s goals and was taken off through injury later in the game. A poor tournament for the Welshman.

10^th – Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal):

With just two substitute appearances, Sarr struggled to make an impact. He appeared in the World Cup round of 16 against England, coming on at half-time and putting in a decent performance, being one of Senegal’s better players.

11^th – Eric Dier (England):

33 minutes across two games was not what Dier would’ve wanted. He finishes bottom of this list as he simply didn’t get enough game time for England at the World Cup.

Related Topics