clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The International Break: Mass Departures

By Brian Mechanick Updated
Kyle Walker - Making Moves
Kyle Walker - Making Moves

Things are looking bright around White Heart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur has won four straight league fixtures, launching the team back into contention for the top-4. This is all not to mention the momentum achieved by a giant North London Derby win, knocking down Arsenal into midtable. 


So what is the reward for Spurs and its supporters, carrying this momentum into the league? An International Break. But instead of wallowing in a lack of Tottenham football this weekend, let's take a look at where Spurs players are (and aren't) going, and how this may impact the team. List of who got called-up here, and some analysis after the jump: 
  • England (Scott Parker, Kyle Walker)
  • Netherlands (Rafael van der Vaart)
  • Wales (Gareth Bale)
  • France (Younes Kaboul)
  • Russia (Roman Pavluychenko)
  • Croatia (Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Vedran Corluka)
  • Cameroon (Sebastien Bassong)
  • Mexico (Giovani Dos Santos)
  • South Africa (Bongani Khumao [on-loan with Reading])
  • England U-21 (Adam Smith [on-loan with MK Dons])

The England call-ups always jumps out first, especially since only a year ago Tottenham sent five players to South Africa with the Three Lions. That quintet has diminished to a current duo, and neither of them were on Tottenham a year ago. It's interesting to see whether Scott Parker starts in England's ties or again is second best to the duo of Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry. And whether or not Kyle Walker plays, the experience should be beneficial for him.

The most interesting non call-up has to be Cameroon passing over Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Assou-Ekotto has been in excellent form this season, but is being passed over by embattled coach Javier Clemente. The reason comes from Assou-Ekotto's decision to turn down a call to join the Indomitable Lions earlier this year. But Cameroon's loss is Tottenham's gain, as BAE should earn some much needed rest after playing every possible minute in the league so far this season. 

Also worth noting is Younes Kaboul's return to the French National Team. Only four times capped for Les Bleus, Kaboul seems to be getting an opportunity under Laurent Blanc to establish himself as a regular French International. Other than that, it's interesting to see Rafael van der Vaart is now captaining Holland. And perhaps the best news is that Roman Pavluychenko is still getting called-up by Russia, despite being dreadfully out of form and not featuring in the league. It's very believable that with some strong international performances and efforts in the two upcoming ties against Rubin Kazan, Pav's value may be inflated for a possible January move back to Russia.

What are you looking for in the International Break from the selected Tottenham players? Leave your thoughts in the comments:

More From Cartilage Free Captain

Tottenham Hotspur News 24/7