Euro 2016 was a tournament of lethargic football, lacking the zip and reckless abandon of the Premier League. It was devoted to tactical nous, staid defending and opportunistic surges up field, embodying a footballing ethos very distant from that of Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs. There were few high presses and little rapid movement of the ball in the final third. The intensity that Spurs impose in their play was abandoned by many of the national sides containing lilywhite players. Jan Vertonghen was shunted to left-back, his ball-playing ability from deep blunted.
Moussa Dembele saw little time in the Belgium side, although his one start yielded a typically composed display. Danny Rose and Harry Kane were decidedly average and Dele Alli’s displays demonstrated that only Pochettino knows his best position. Despite the relative modesty of the tournament as a whole, there are three lessons Spurs should take from Euro 2016 if they are to improve on last season.
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