Hotspur Way should certainly be a bit busier over the next couple of days following the conclusion of the first international break of 2025. The vast majority of Ange Postecoglou's squad were called up for international action and only a handful of players remained behind.

As Spurs have no fixture this weekend due to their FA Cup exit at the hands of Aston Villa in early February, the north London club do have plenty of time to prepare for next Thursday's Premier League encounter at Chelsea. Tottenham's preparation for the match is going to be absolutely vital as they look to climb up the Premier League table from their lowly position of 14th.

What should help matters leading up to the game in west London is that a number of Tottenham players enjoyed really good international breaks for their respective countries. So who were the Spurs winners and losers of the international break? football.london takes a look below.

Winners

One of the main positives Postecoglou can take from this month's international games is that Cristian Romero played two 90-minute matches for Argentina. Since returning from injury earlier this month, the centre-back had only completed one full game from a possible three as the head coach was clearly managing his minutes.

Well, his two outings for the current World Cup winners suggests that the 26-year-old is now in a position to start week in, week out for Tottenham between now and the end of May. Romero was at fault for Matheus Cunha's goal for Brazil on Tuesday evening but it has been a positive international break for the defender.

Micky van de Ven could also be considered a winner from the break in play if he can join Romero in playing consistent football for Tottenham in the weeks ahead after his injury woes this term. The Dutchman was not part of the Netherlands squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures after they elected not to call him up and that will have allowed him to top up his fitness at Hotspur Way.

Two players who did enjoy a good week or so with their country were France Under-21 duo Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel. Odobert assisted two of Hugo Ekitike's treble in a 5-3 win over England Under-21s, which should give him a further confidence boost after a good period for Spurs prior to departing for international duty.

Tel came on from the bench in the game against England Under-21s but he marked his return to the starting XI against Slovakia Under-21s with a fine double. It may not have gone to plan for the youngster in front of goal in a Spurs shirt since his loan move from Bayern Munich but he looked every inch a player full of confidence with two excellent strikes in a 4-0 win.

His first was a curling effort from the left side of the penalty area that found the far corner of the goal, with his second a sublime dink over the advancing goalkeeper. His two goals for his country will hopefully be a sign of things to come over the coming weeks.

Yves Bissouma was also another player who had an impact on the international stage after a tough period at Tottenham. The midfielder assisted two of Mali's three goals in a 3-0 win at Comoros, before then playing 90 minutes four days later in a 0-0 draw with Central Africa.

Amid his current woes at Tottenham with limited minutes coming his way due to his performances, Bissouma's exploits for his country will hopefully give him a much-needed lift. Tottenham teammate Ben Davies was then a shock goalscorer in Wales' 3-1 win over Kazakhstan last Saturday.

The centre-back was in the right place to head home from point-blank range as he scored only his third goal for his country. Davies did also get an assist in the game after teeing up Daniel James for a seventh-minute opener.

Destiny Udogie managed two 90-minute appearances for Italy in their UEFA Nations League double-header against Germany. Starts for Italy have been hard to come by for the left-back with Federico Dimarco in his position but the Spurs man profited from his rival's absence due to injury.

Finally, it was a good international break for Jamie Donley and Yang Min-hyeok as they made their senior international debuts for Northern Ireland and South Korea respectively. Donley came on as a substitute against Switzerland and then started four days later in a 5-1 defeat at Sweden, with Yang getting 45 minutes to his name from the bench in a 1-1 draw with Jordan.

Losers

It was unfortunately an international break to forget for Lucas Bergvall as he missed out on his first start for Sweden. Previously making four senior appearances off the bench, head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson had indicated prior to their friendly against Luxembourg that the in-form Tottenham midfielder would start the game.

However, Bergvall was absent from training in the middle of the week due to illness and that sadly saw him miss out. The youngster was then not part of the squad for Tuesday's Northern Ireland friendly and that means his long-awaited first start for Sweden remains on hold for now.

Bergvall's next opportunity to start for Sweden could come at the beginning of June when they travel to Hungary. Tottenham teammate Dominic Solanke also missed out on international minutes over the past week after Thomas Tuchel elected not to bring him on in England's wins over Albania and Latvia.

Due to his watching brief from the substitutes' bench, Solanke should be raring to go for Tottenham in their upcoming fixtures against Chelsea and Southampton. The striker will be hoping to get his first minutes under Tuchel in June when England face Andorra and Senegal.

Guglielmo Vicario also missed out on adding to his Italy international caps as he had to watch on from the bench with Gianluigi Donnarumma starting in the games against Germany. The Tottenham shot-stopper had started ahead of his rival in two of Italy's last three fixtures but it appears that the ex-PSG man is ahead of him in the pecking order.

Romero fitness boost, Bergvall absence and Donley's Spurs future - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

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