17 clearances, 10 duels won: Int'l journalist blown away by 'superb' 8/10 Spurs man

Tottenham Hotspur defender Joe Rodon put in an impressive display at the back for Wales as they took one step closer to the World Cup.

It was a night of great importance for Wales as they stood on the verge of being 90 minutes away from the World Cup if they were able to get past Austria in the Welsh capital.

Playing time has been something of a rarity for Rodon this season, with only 8 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, but a lack of minutes was clearly not an issue for Wales boss Robert Page as he picked him to start for the fifth match in a row.

Two goals from former Spurs man Gareth Bale was enough of a cushion to get them past the visitors, but it was Rodon’s performance in defence that arguably set the stage to keep Austria at bay for the vast majority of the 90 minutes.

The 24-year-old was as solid as they came at the back for Wales, making as many as 17 clearances, won 10 duels and had a pass success rate of 85% (as per WhoScored).

TIF Thoughts on Tottenham Hotspur’s Joe Rodon and his performance for Wales…

His performance earned him a rating of 8/10 from Wales journalist Tom Coleman who described his performance as ‘superb’.

It is the kind of performance that makes you wonder why Spurs boss Antonio Conte, as well as the other Spurs managers before him, have been so hesitant to give him any playing time as he has only made 22 appearances in total since making the move to North London in 2020.

Whether or not this performance, especially on such a high-profile stage, will be enough to convince him to change his mind and give him some more minutes during the business end of the season though, we’ll just have to wait and see.

In other news: Sky Sports reporter: ‘Amazing’ Spurs ace’s future now in major doubt