Much of the Premier League returned for the start of pre-season training last week, but you could almost forgive Mauricio Pochettino for just giving his Tottenham squad the rest of July off. As of Saturday morning, the number of his players still involved even at this late stage of the tournament across three different squads totalled nine. He even had two potential national captains in Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane in contention to lift the trophy.
From Nacer Chadli and Luka Modric to Kyle Walker and Vedran Corluka, there were also plenty of others who have passed through the dressing-room at White Hart Lane in recent years.
They were not all personally coached and improved by Pochettino, but the majority were, and it all begs a rather different sort of question. Is the most influential coach at this World Cup not Gareth Southgate, Didier Deschamps or Roberto Martinez, but perhaps Pochettino himself?
With Tottenham’s move to a new stadium looming later this year – and both Pochettino and Harry Kane signing new contracts over recent months – it has all certainly been another wonderful advertisement for the club. Any young player searching for an environment that might maximum their talent must surely be taking note.
Again, as of Saturday morning, there were nine times more Tottenham players still involved in the tournament than neighbours Arsenal, who were themselves once seen as the ultimate English home for emerging international talent. The days back in 1998 when the Daily Mirror famously proclaimed, ‘Arsenal win the World Cup’, really now are a long time ago