Spurs international watch: Point on the road for midfielder | OneFootball

In the early hours of this morning GMT, there was a final game for a Tottenham Hotspur player this international break, as Rodrigo Bentancur and his Uruguay side travelled to Salvador to face Brazil at Arena Fonte Nova in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, for their final game of 2024.

Last week, Bentancur’s side beat Colombia in incredibly dramatic circumstances, conceding a 96th minute equaliser, just to score within 25 seconds of kick off in the 101st minute, to secure all three points with a 3-2 win.

For this game, the Spurs midfielder was once again named in the starting line up by manager Marcelo Bielsa, forming a midfield three with Manuel Ugarte of Manchester United and Federico Valverde of Real Madrid. Ugarte was the 101st minute hero against Colombia.

The first half of the game was largely uneventful, with both sides cancelling each other out. With four minutes of the opening period remaining, Bentancur’s name was in the book of referee Piero Maza for a tough foul committed.

Solid point on the road for Rodrigo Bentancur and Uruguay

Remarkably, this is the fourth game in a row for club and country that the midfielder has been booked in, and seventh time this season. Due to him being booked in two qualifiers, he will now miss the next one for Uruguay, when they host Argentina in March – so quite a big one.

Ten minutes into the second half, Uruguay took the lead thanks to Valverde, but seven minutes later their hosts equalised, with the game firmly in the balance heading into the closing stages.

However, that would be the final goal of the game, and the spoils would be shared between both sides. This result leaves Uruguay in 2nd place with 20 points after 12 games so far, with six qualifiers remaining before the World Cup. Due to the expansion of the World Cup, the top six teams in CONMEBOL qualifying will automatically qualify for the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

As of right now, with 12 match days completed, Uruguay sit seven points ahead of Bolivia in seventh place (the play-off spot), with just eighteen points left to play for - so looking pretty good.

As for Bentancur, his international break is now over, and he will head back to Hotspur Way. Although of course, he will not be involved against Manchester City in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. He will, however, be available for the home game against AS Roma in the UEFA Europa League next Thursday evening.