Tottenham’s Juan Foyth to get his first senior Argentina call-up

A lot has been written about Tottenham Hotspur’s defense, but Juan Foyth has been the forgotten player thus far, having yet to make an appearance for Spurs in the regular season or the preseason. And yet, there’s still good news — despite zero minutes of game time, Argentine newspaper El Dia is reporting that Foyth is set to be called up to the senior Argentina squad by interim manager Lionel Scaloni.

The report isn’t online, but Sport Witness has the details, and states that Foyth received a phone call from Argentina assistant Walter Samuel requesting that he report for the next round of Argentina friendlies in October against Iraq and Brazil.

Mauricio Pochettino loves Foyth and has said in the past that he thinks he could become one of the best defenders in the Premier League. He had an unlucky injury just before Spurs’ preseason trip to USA and is only now coming back to fitness.

Pochettino said in his press conference ahead of tomorrow’s League Cup match that Foyth is definitely in the squad to face Watford, though he’s not guaranteed any minutes. He also confirmed that he had been contacted by members of Argentina’s coaching staff.

“He will be in the squad but no it hasn’t been difficult to manage it. It’s true that it was very bad luck that he got injured the day before we were going to the USA and it was long the recovery. Now he’s doing well and he’s going to be in the squad. I don’t believe he is going to play but he will be in the squad.

“I can tell you that some [Argentina] coaching staff contacted me asking about his form and how he is doing. I don’t know if he’s going to be called for the national team, but in the last month, in the last international break, some staff contacted me, yes.”

That’s great news for Foyth! Unfortunately we haven’t heard of a similar call-up for Erik Lamela, who has been impressive for Spurs since his return from injury. This is disappointing, but not entirely surprising — Argentina has a surplus of talented offensive players, but they’re not always as strong in defense.

Maybe the international break can be a good thing after all!