The 2026 World Cup has kicked off with an exhilarating opening week, featuring plenty of goals, drama, and entertainment across the first round of group fixtures. France, Argentina, Germany, and England all started strongly with convincing victories, while European champions Spain were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by debutants Cape Verde, and Portugal failed to overcome DR Congo.
With 12 Tottenham players participating in the tournament, there has been significant interest in how they perform. Standard Sport assesses each Spurs player's contributions after the initial group games.
Kevin Danso (Austria)
Danso came off the bench in the second half as Austria scored twice late on to secure a 3-1 win over Jordan. Ralf Rangnick's side are in a strong position to advance to the last 32, but they face reigning champions Argentina next.
Cristian Romero (Argentina)
Romero had a great start as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Algeria, thanks to a Lionel Messi hat-trick. The Spurs captain played 80 minutes before being replaced by veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi.
Luka Vuskovic (Croatia)
With much discussion about his future, Croatia's Group L opener against England was expected to be a platform for Vuskovic to showcase his abilities. However, England dominated, registering 11 shots on target in a deserved 4-2 win.
Djed Spence (England)
Spence did not start against Croatia, but his brief cameo off the bench demonstrated why Thomas Tuchel selected him over more established names. His pace helped stretch a tiring Croatia side, and his running contributed to England's fourth goal. Tuchel has clear roles for each player, and Spence proved his worth despite a difficult domestic season.
Micky van de Ven (Netherlands)
Van de Ven endured a frustrating opening game as the Netherlands were pegged back late on by World Cup dark horses Japan. He played the full 90 minutes at left-back and was bitterly disappointed with how Japan equalized for the second time.
Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
Sarr was an unused substitute as Senegal lost 3-1 to France in their Group I opener in New York. Despite having better chances early on, the Lions of Teranga could not make their dominance count and were ultimately well beaten.
Lucas Bergvall (Sweden)
Bergvall made a telling contribution off the bench, assisting Yasin Ayari as Sweden eased to a 5-1 victory over Tunisia in their first Group F match.
Rodrigo Bentancur (Uruguay)
Uruguay were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia, failing to capitalize on Spain's slip-up against Cape Verde. Bentancur played the full 90 minutes as Maxi Araujo cancelled out Abdulelah Al-Amri's opener.
Andy Robertson (Scotland)
Robertson captained Scotland to their first World Cup win in 36 years, a 1-0 victory over Haiti in Boston. Steve Clarke's side top Group C and stand a good chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Marcos Senesi (Argentina)
Senesi, a late call-up to replace the injured Leonardo Balerdi, was an unused substitute as Argentina made the perfect start to their title defense against Algeria.
Jan Paul van Hecke (Netherlands)
Van Hecke, Tottenham's latest arrival, started alongside Van de Ven as the Netherlands were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan. Their developing relationship should benefit Spurs in the long run.
