Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven produced a stunning last-ditch tackle on Achraf Hakimi during the Netherlands’ World Cup clash with Morocco, but it was not enough to prevent elimination in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Tottenham’s Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven have now joined Andy Robertson and Rodrigo Bentancur as Spurs players eliminated from the FIFA World Cup.
That leaves just eight Tottenham representatives still in the tournament as several nations continue to battle for a place in the round of 16.
Van de Ven and van Hecke’s exit came just one round after the group stage departures of Bentancur and Robertson, with the Netherlands suffering a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Morocco on penalties.
Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven produces vital tackle against Morocco
From a Spurs perspective, the early elimination means these players will return to pre-season preparations sooner than those progressing deeper into the competition.
However, for the players themselves, it remains a gut-wrenching experience, as they would have to wait until 2030 before representing their nation on the world stage again.
Regardless, Van Hecke impressed against Morocco with strong underlying numbers, while van de Ven left everything on the pitch.
That was most evident in the centre-back’s last-ditch tackle when Hakimi broke through on goal in the 54th minute and looked set to put Morocco in front.
However, Van de Ven showed superb recovery pace, got back in time and prevented what looked like a certain goal as Hakimi bore down on the net.
It was such a well-timed tackle that even Hakimi showed some respect to the Dutchman afterwards by giving him a handshake.
Watch van de Ven’s last-ditch tackle here:
Spurs fans recall van de Ven’s defensive heroics
Tottenham supporters will not be surprised, as van de Ven has shown his ability to produce such moments before.
Many will remember his acrobatic goal-line clearance in the Europa League final during the 2024/25 season.
While this intervention was not quite as acrobatic, its importance was just the same in the moment. The Dutchman was deployed as a wing-back in this encounter, with Ronald Koeman opting for a back three against Morocco.
Van de Ven remained solid in that role, although he spent most of his time on the defensive side and contributed little in attack.
He received a 6.5 FotMob rating and featured for 89 minutes. His attacking involvement was minimal, with few touches and limited passes into the final third, while his defensive work was more prominent.
Van de Ven’s stats vs Morocco:
- Accurate passes: 7/11 (64%)
- Chances created: 0
- Shots on target: 1
- Shots off target: 1
- Shot accuracy: 1/2 (50%)
- Defensive contributions: 6
- Touches: 26
- Touches in opposition box: 1
- Passes into final third: 1
- Dispossessed: 1
- Tackles: 1
- Blocks: 2
- Clearances: 1
- Headed clearance: 1
- Interceptions: 2
- Recoveries: 1
- Dribbled past: 1
- Ground duels won: 1/6 (17%)
- Aerial duels won: 1/1 (100%)