Tottenham star Radu Dragusin was commendable in defence for Romania against Kosovo
Tottenham Hotspur stars are making waves for their respective nations in the ongoing international break, and Radu Dragusin has been one of those.
Radu Dragusin was in international action on Friday night as Romania travelled to the Pristina City Stadium to take on Kosovo in a UEFA Nations League fixture.
The 22-year-old arrived at Tottenham from Genoa in January, but due to the presence of a strong centre-back pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, he is yet to establish himself in the first team. However, that isn’t the case for his national team where the defender is a key member of the squad.
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On Friday night, Romania were at their attacking best against Kosovo, beating the home side 3-0. Dennis Man, Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus scored the goals as Mircea Lucescu’s side opened their Nations League campaign with an emphatic victory.
While the talk in the Romanian media will mostly be about the team’s attacking play, one must not forget they kept a clean sheet away from home. And Radu Dragusin played a vital role in that aspect.
The Tottenham defender put in a defensive masterclass at Kosovo. He recorded nine clearances, one interception, won four out of six duels and had 52 touches on the ball. Dragusin could only complete 26/38 passes (68% pass accuracy), however, which is understandable because Romania were pretty much direct in their build-up from the back. (Stats courtesy: SofaScore)
Overall, it was an assured display from the 22-year-old, building on his performance from the weekend for Spurs against Newcastle United. In the injury absence of Micky van de Ven, Dragusin made his first start in the new season on Sunday as he partnered the experienced Cristian Romero in central defence.
Although Dragusin’s individual performance was extremely good—considering it was his first start of the campaign and at a hostile St James’ Park—he couldn’t help Big Ange’s side win the game. So, the performance in Romania’s victory at the Pristina Stadium on Friday evening should have further boosted the young centre-back’s confidence.
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Mircea Lucescu’s men are next in action on Monday night as they host Lithuania, and the £85,000-per-week Spurs star is likely to start once again. That will be Romania’s last international game this month, so Dragusin is then set to return to N17, where preparations for next Sunday’s mouthwatering North London Derby will be in full swing.
