On Friday a Spurs Under 19 side will play their first match of the 2022 Terborg Tournament, when they take on KRC Genk in Terborg, in The Netherlands. This is the first time that a Spurs Under 19 side has competed in a tournament outside of England since 2019. So this will be a great occasion for the players who travel to the 2022 Terborg Tournament. Spurs’ Under 19 side have been drawn in the Van Egmond Group (there is two groups in the tournament and group matches are 25 x 2 minutes long), alongside Fluminense, KRC Genk and De Graafschap. The format of the Terborg Tournament is slightly different to the Tournoi Europeen, which the Spurs Under 21 side have competed in regularly in recent years. The top two sides in the group at the Terborg Tournament progress to the semi-finals of the competition, while the remaining sides who finish in third and fourth place in their respective group, will play a one off play-off match to determine where they will finish in the tournament standings. The last time Spurs competed in this tournament, Wayne Burnett was the head-coach, and players such as Dilan Markanday, Luis Binks and Harvey White were all part of the Spurs squad that traveled to Terborg.

Spurs’ first game of the 2022 Terborg Tournament will be against very talented Belgian side KRC Genk. KRC Genk actually beat Chelsea 5-1 in the 2021/22 UEFA Youth League. Fluminense won the Terborg Tournament in 2015, and De Graafschap are a local Dutch side. It will be very difficult to finish in the top two of the Van Egmond Group, and it would be a very good achievement if we did manage to achieve that. Although it is an Under 19’s tournament, I believe that Spurs can select some older players to compete in the tournament. It will be interesting to see whether some of the older players who are officially part of the Spurs Under 23 side will travel along with the team to Terborg. This tournament is a great and prestigious competition (this is the 41st edition of the tournament), and it will be a great three days of football for the Spurs Under 19 side, as they get to play against some really good sides from across the world. I will be travelling to The Netherlands later in the week, to cover Spurs’ matches at the tournament. I’m really looking forward to it, and I would like to wish the Spurs team all the very best of luck for the tournament.

Spurs’ fixtures at the tournament:

Friday: Spurs versus KRC Genk (18:00pm Central European time).

Saturday: Spurs versus Fluminense (13:00pm Central European time).

Spurs versus De Graafschap (16:00pm Central European time).

Sunday: To be confirmed.