Spurs drop Alderweireld and Trippier for San Siro clash

Tottenham Hotspur defensive pair Toby Alderweireld and Kieran Trippier have been left out of today’s Uefa Champions League group stage opener against Inter Milan at the San Siro today.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said he had made a “technical decision” to omit the pair, but not as a punishment after defeats to Watford and Liverpool in their last two games.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielders Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko will also miss out on the European tie.

France’s World Cup-winning captain Lloris has been ruled out for several weeks with a thigh injury with Alli and Sissoko both carrying hamstring injuries.

“It’s a technical decision. You can look it up, find it in the dictionary. A technical decision,” the Argentine manager said of the decision to leave out Alderweireld and Trippier.

“Tactical is on the pitch. Yeah maybe tactical is outside of the pitch, too. But it’s technical decision, tactical decision, it’s a decision in the end.

“You cannot bring 25 players. You can only play 11 players with seven on the bench. That is the reason. I never punish players because you win and lose. The plan is to leave them and use different players.

“There’s nothing behind it. We believe the best decision is to play with different players.”

Meanwhile, England’s lack of success in major international tournaments can be linked to the relatively low number of English players taking part in the Champions League, a study has suggested.

Analysis by statisticians Gracenote of the nationalities of players starting games in the Champions League reveals that England still lags behind other major footballing nations, just as it has ever since the competition was expanded to 32 teams in 1999.

“All 10 World Cups and European Championships this century have been won by the countries in the top five for most players starting Champions League matches that season,” Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis at Gracenote says.