adminIt’s not every day that a Tottenham Hotspur backup fullback earns praise from Donald Trump for shutting down a record-breaking Lionel Messi at the World Cup—or wins over fans who’d never even watched football before.
But Djed Spence experienced a truly transformative tournament with England, evolving from a widely criticized squad pick into one of the nation’s heroes as the Three Lions clinched third place.
Spence fought his way back into the starting XI during the knockout rounds after Reece James suffered an injury, and he clearly outperformed the Chelsea star, who had been hailed by his own supporters as the world’s best right-back.
(That title now seems to belong to Spence’s Tottenham teammate Pedro Porro, after he lifted the entire World Cup trophy.)
England’s standout figures are undoubtedly Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, but after those two, it’s hard to argue that Spence wasn’t the team’s third-best player this summer.
Spurs fans have been overflowing with praise ever since his gritty defensive performance late in a tense 3-2 win over a tough Mexico side at the Azteca, where he put his body on the line to secure the victory.
Djed Spence was outstanding
Now, on The Overlap podcast, even Premier League icons Gary Neville and Ian Wright have acknowledged that Spence was England’s top defender overall this summer.
Wright stated, “Djed Spence was our best defender…he made decisive tackles,” while Neville simply added, “Definitely [Djed Spence],” when asked who stood out most in defense.
For Tottenham supporters, this conclusion feels fairly obvious, and the competition isn’t particularly fierce. Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi were impressive and had strong tournaments, but no one commanded attention quite like Spence—especially with his crucial interventions against France and Argentina and their star attackers.
Spence returns to Tottenham with his stock at an all-time high, and Inter Milan likely won’t be the only major club eyeing the versatile fullback, capable of starting on either flank, this summer.
Roberto De Zerbi now has every reason to believe in Spence, and while he remains a fan of Destiny Udogie, Spence has reignited the debate over who should start at left back.
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