Tottenham Hotspur are the most well-represented club left in the World Cup, and it’s amazing. Thanks to England’s 2-0 win over Sweden in the quarterfinals, a win that send the Three Lions to the last four for the first time since Italia 1990, Spurs now have a staggering nine players in the semifinals. That’s almost a full starting XI!

The next closest clubs are Manchester United (7), Zenit St. Petersburg (6), CSKA Moscow (5), and PSG (4). If Russia gets knocked out this afternoon by Croatia then only United will be anywhere close. (EDIT: I forgot about Chelsea and City, both of which also has seven players in the semifinals. But no worries, as 7 < 9).

More than that, Tottenham are guaranteed to have a player who will play to lift the FIFA World Cup Trophy, as France and Belgium play each other in the first semifinal.

That’s a spectacular advertisement for Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham Hotspur, but it might come back to bite them a bit at the beginning of the next Premier League season. It’s a long summer of football after a grueling 2017-18 league campaign, and even with a bit of a rest and an abbreviated preseason, there are going to be a lot of Spurs players who are going to report for training absolutely knackered.

Could it lead to a slow start for Spurs in August? Maybe. Will anyone care if a Spurs player lifts the World Cup trophy at the end of the competition? Probably not.

Nine is a large number. COYS!