Tottenham 1-1 Sydney FC (4-2 on pens): Mathys Tel scores stunning free-kick as Spurs win pre-season friendly on penalties
Tottenham beat Sydney FC on penalties to earn their third victory of pre-season after being held to a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes during which Mathys Tel scored a stunning free-kick.
Tel found the top-right corner with a wonderful strike from 25 yards in the 29th minute in Sydney, but the A-League side equalised after half-time through Takahiro Sekine before Martin Dubravka saved a penalty in the shoot-out, which allowed Dane Scarlett to net the winner.
Tottenham are interested in signing Manchester City winger Savinho and Tel, who only signed for the club permanently this summer in a £30m deal from Bayern Munich, appeared to respond to those transfer links with a stand-out 45-minute display off the left.
Roberto De Zerbi rested a host of his stars, including Mateus Fernandes, but started midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who Sky Sports News understands wants to leave the club this summer, for his first pre-season minutes before he was replaced at the break by club-record signing Sandro Tonali.
Andy Robertson made his first Spurs appearance as a second-half substitute, being handed the captain's armband and impressing in a 25-minute cameo by setting up two chances and having a shot saved before tucking away a penalty.
Sky Sports' Sam Blitz:
Tel responds to Savinho news - Spurs are after a new left winger, and Man City's Savinho could be another high-profile addition to Roberto De Zerbi's squad. But Tel provided a reminder of his talents. His stunning free-kick stole the show but he was also Spurs' brightest attacker in the game. If Savinho and Tel are Spurs' two left-wing options, it shows real depth in that area.
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Robertson looks energised on debut - He only got 25 minutes, but Andy Robertson made a real impact on his first Spurs outing. The left-back should have had two assists but Min-Hyeok Yang missed from close range. De Zerbi's full-backs in this game were very attacking and often had good goalscoring chances, is the Scot in line for a new wave of attacking influence in the Premier League?
Gray could be important for De Zerbi - When the team news came out, it was a surprise to see Archie Gray named as captain for the second pre-season game in a row. More experienced players such as Conor Gallagher, Richarlison and Ben Davies also started, but it was the young midfielder with the armband. Despite all the talk about Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali coming in, is Gray the final piece of that three-man midfield, on the basis of that vote of confidence from De Zerbi?
Where are Spurs' goals coming from? Yes, it's only pre-season. But you look at the Spurs attack and wonder where the goals are coming from. Spurs were wasteful against Sydney - with Gallagher missing three big first-half chances and substitute Yang missing two more after coming on. Richarlison was anonymous in his 60-minute display, while the likes of Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Mohammad Kudus, Xavi Simons and Dejan Kulusevski are still out injured. De Zerbi has made loads of signings in defence and midfield, but more still needs to be done up front.
July 22: Tottenham 1-0 MK Dons - Spurs training groundJuly 26: Tottenham 2-0 Auckland FCJuly 29: Tottenham 1-1 Sydney FC (4-2 on pens) - SydneyAugust 1: Tottenham vs Chelsea - Sydney, 10.45amAugust 8: Tottenham vs Getafe - Spurs training ground (behind closed doors), 3pmAugust 15: Tottenham vs Hoffenheim - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 3pmAugust 16: Tottenham vs Hoffenheim - Spurs training ground (behind closed doors), 12pm
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29 of July 2026
