7 clearances, 4 interceptions, 3 aerial duels won; rarely-seen Spurs ace is a rock for his country

Sat 9 October 2021 22:15, UK

Joe Rodon has been at Spurs for close to a year now, but Tottenham fans haven’t exactly seen that much of him.

The Wales international, who linked up with Spurs last October, has made just 17 appearances for the north Londoners.

Of those, 13 have come in the Premier League, but just eight of those have been starts.

This season, Rodon hasn’t made a single start in the league under Nuno Espirito Santo.

His only top-flight appearance so far was off the bench to replace Eric Dier on 12 minutes in the 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace.

While Rodon struggles for game time at Spurs, he’s become an important player for Wales and was back in the starting XI against Czech Republic.

The 23-year-old missed the Dragons’ previous three games – he was injured against Finland and Belarus, and made the bench against Estonia.

He was an assured, calm and solid presence in the back three, and despite Wales drawing 2-2, he emerged from the game with credit.

According to , Rodon made four interceptions, seven clearances, and blocked one shot.

In addition, he won three aerial challenges and played three accurate long balls.

Rob Page’s charges took the lead on 36 minutes through Aaron Ramsey, but Jakub Pesek equalised for the Czechs minutes later.

Wales then fell behind shortly after the restart as Danny Ward failed to control a Ramsey backpass, which rolled into their net.

But the visitors managed to equalise through Daniel James, which sparked a period of Welsh pressure, though they couldn’t make the most of it.

The game finished 2-2 in the end, which means Wales remain third in Group E behind the Czechs on goal difference, albeit with a game in hand.

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