The Netherlands crashed out of the World Cup at the Round of 32 after a defeat to Morocco on penalties, and Tottenham’s Jan Paul van Hecke picked up a painful head injury along the way.
It was a day to forget for Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven on Monday as the Netherlands crashed out of the World Cup in the first knockout round.
The Dutch came very close to progressing when Cody Gakpo gave them the lead on 72 minutes at Monterrey Stadium, and their lead held until injury time.
However, Issa Diop’s 91st-minute equaliser broke Dutch hearts, with the North African side eventually emerging 3-2 winners in a penalty shootout.
Tottenham star Jan Paul van Hecke was bleeding profusely from his head
Van Hecke started as a right centre-back in a back three, and the new Tottenham Hotspur signing had a major scare on 38 minutes.
The centre-back tumbled in the box during a Netherlands corner, and Monaco star Noussair Mazraoui accidently scrapped his studs down the 26-year-old’s head, leading to a lot of bleeding.
Van Hecke appeared to even get staples in his head to close the wound and stop the bleeding.
Thankfully, from a Spurs perspective, the former Brighton man returned to the pitch swiftly and continued playing, although he could not stop his side from being knocked out.
This is not the first time Van Hecke has been in the wars at the World Cup this summer after picking up a nasty black eye against Japan.
Why Netherlands’ defeat is a blessing in disguise for Spurs
As many as 10 Tottenham players have made it into the knockout stages of the World Cup. While that is something that Spurs fans will be proud of, it does mean that many of them could miss the early part of pre-season.
With Cristian Romero and Marcos Senesi likely to go deep into the tournament with Argentina, and with Kevin Danso’s Austria still in the tournament, De Zerbi may have a shortage of centre-backs for the first few weeks of pre-season.
Netherlands’ elimination thus has a major silver lining for Tottenham, as it ensures that Van Hecke and Van de Ven return slightly earlier than expected.