Spurs Dozen from Six Countries Set for World Cup Finals

Harry Kane - (CC BY-SA 2.0) By Brad Tutterow

All of the 23-man squads for the 2018 World Cup have been announced and a total of 12 Tottenham players could feature in the tournament that gets underway on Thursday, 14 June. That Spurs dozen are drawn from six different countries, so here's who to look out for during the finals in Russia.

England

Five Tottenham players are in the squad named by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate. He has given Spurs striker Harry Kane the captain's armband for the tournament and also called up midfielder Dele Alli, the versatile Eric Dier, and full backs Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier.

Although there's notably not the usual hype surrounding them, England are 16/1 shots in the betting on who will win the World Cup. They are in Group G in Russia and play Tunisia, Panama and this next country that has Spurs representation...

Belgium

The Belgians rely on Spurs for the bedrock of their defence. Roberto Martinez managed in the Premier League with Wigan Athletic and Everton before taking on this national coaching role, so naturally looks at many English based players. Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, who recently earned his 100th cap, are established first-choice options.

There's a third Tottenham player to keep tabs on for Belgium, who are among Betfair's World Cup tips 2018 at 11/1 on their sportsbook to lift the trophy, in midfielder Mousa Dembele. Competition for a place in the engine room is pretty stiff though.

Colombia

Spurs' sole representative from South America at this World Cup is Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez. Mauricio Pochettino has backed him with game time since arriving from Ajax last summer and on international duty, he'll be expected to form a formidable partnership with Barcelona new boy Yerry Mina.

Colombia are 6/4 joint-favourites to win World Cup Group H where they have been drawn alongside Poland, Senegal and Japan. This is because they have other top international stars like Bayern Munich playmaker James Rodriguez and prolific Monaco frontman Radamel Falcao.

Denmark

Christian Eriksen is a key player for the Danes. His hat-trick in the play-off win over the Republic of Ireland got them to these World Cup finals.

The Tottenham midfield star has his national team built around him. Eriksen gets to work his magic in Group C in Russia, with Denmark 8/15 to advance from their pool where they play Australia, Peru and this next country...

France

Spurs number one Hugo Lloris captains Les Bleus and is set to rack up his international century during the World Cup. A leader for both club and country, he is set to become just the seventh Frenchman to reach 100 caps.

That puts Lloris in elite company and the defence in front of him is drawn from players at Real Madrid and Barcelona among others. France look capable of going far into the tournament under Didier Deschamps and are 13/2 chances to repeat their World Cup success of 1998.

South Korea

The Tottenham twelve in Russia is completed by forward Son Heung-min of South Korea. Behind the prolific Kane, he was next best in the club's goal charts this past season, with 18 in all competitions.

South Korea have since struggled to live up to their memorable run at the 2002 World Cup when they were co-hosts, yet with Son in their ranks they could be a handful. It's hard to look past holders Germany and Mexico in their pool, Group F, which is completed by Sweden.

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