FIFA Files - 4

The FIFA Files and in the last part of our look at how Tottenham players have performed at previous World Cup final tournaments.

This time we turn our attention to the goal scorers spread across eight countries and the five men who have captained their countries

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A total of eighteen goals have been scored by Spurs players in the World Cup final tournaments. The first came on 17th June 1958 when Terry Medwin of Wales scored the winner V Hungary in a playoff game at the group stage.

Our leading scorer is Gary Lineker who has scored four times. Two of those were penalties and came in the same game V Cameroon and that’s the only time a player has scored more than one in a game.
Second on the list is Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann (top) with three strikes, which makes him top in goals from open play. 

Mullery's goal V West Germany

The first ‘English’ goal came four years after Medwin’s in 1962 when Jimmy Greaves scored V Argentina in Chile.  

The other English men with one goal are Defoe, Anderton, Peters and Mullery, all with one each.

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When Mullery and Peters scored in the game V West Germany in Mexico 1970, it was the only time that two Spurs players have scored in the same match.

The overseas players who have registered are Ardiles (Argentina), Nielsen (Denmark) Archibald (Scotland) and Acomovic (Slovenia). These were joined by Jan Vertonghan in 2010 when he scored the only goal in the game V South Korea.

The last goal scored by an Englishman was Defoe against Slovenia in 2010. While Milenko Acomovic had signed for Spurs in the May 2002 he was yet to make his Tottenham debut when he played at the World Cup.

Defoe celebrates his goal

Archibald's goal was in the game with New Zealand. He came on as a substitute in the 53th minute and scored in the 79th the first Spurs goal by a substitute.

These figures do not include the ‘goal’ Lineker scored in a penalty shootout V West Germany in 1986 when Waddle also missed his kick.

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England lead the Nation’s table with nine goals, Germany have three and the other countries one each. Both Klinsmann and Vertonghen were their team’s captains when they scored.

Whilst no Englishman may have captained his country at the World Cup Finals till this year, Blanchflower 5 games, Klinsmann  5, Lloris 5, Grodas 4 and Vertonghen 1, have.

Remember these figures only relate to appearances while the player was registered with Spurs by FIFA. The Connections series for England and other countries, the 2014 series Flying Down to Rio and this year’s FIFA Files can all be found @
 http://www.indiaspurs.com/blog/hotspur-towers-the-international-index

A number of sources actually conflict on line-ups etc, no great surprise, these figures have been based on the information provided by FIFA, THFC and The FA.  The FIFA Files will return shortly with another aspect of this summer’s competition.
COYS
Keith Harrison.
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