Tottenham will face the challenge of the Europa League last 16. Postecoglou urges to seize any opportunity

The first leg of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League round of 16 will be played tomorrow, with Tottenham Hotspur travelling to challenge Alkmaar. Postecoglou said his team must seize the opportunity to achieve good results, and said the players have made significant improvements in both training and intensity recently.

In the previous stage of the Europa League, Tottenham Hotspur directly advanced to the round of 16 with the fourth place. But unfortunately, Tottenham Hotspur lost 0-1 to Manchester City at home in the Premier League last week, and could not build momentum for the match against Alkmaar with a winning streak.

As for the team's current lineup status, Tottenham Hotspur coach Postecoglou said at the press conference, "Kulusevski is a player who did not travel with the team. He has some injuries to his feet, and he himself is not quite sure when he was injured, but the pain has worsened in the past few weeks. He has been able to train and play, and barely held on, but the injury has not improved. So we did some further examinations, and there is no definite conclusion yet."

"We are still waiting for more results to determine the specific situation, and it is unlikely that he will return before the international match day. However, the injury is not serious and does not require surgery, but he did not travel with the team to the Netherlands this time. Ben Davies is very close to returning, but he is still staying at the training base with Richarlison for rehabilitation training. Apart from this, everyone else is here."

Players eager to step up for the team

Talking about the challenge of the Europa League, Postecoglou said, "This is a tournament we hope to do well in. We have reached the round of 16 and will face two difficult games against Alkmaar next. This is the challenge we must overcome first. The club has not performed well in this tournament in recent years, but this is an important European tournament after all. We have advanced to the round of 16, which is a good opportunity. Now it depends on how far we can go."

"We felt good about our situation at the beginning of the season, but things didn't go quite as planned. But now the situation is different, mainly because several important players have returned, and we finally have the opportunity to train together as a team, which is invaluable for us."

Postecoglu said, "The schedule has been more reasonable in the past few weeks, the players have had time to rest, and we are now in better condition and can go all out for the next game. A month ago, our situation was still difficult, the lineup was severely damaged, and the players did not have enough time to recover. But in recent weeks, the intensity of training, recovery and preparation for the game has been greatly improved."

In addition, Postecoglu also said, "I think the team realizes that we now have a great opportunity. Everyone has seen that those players who have been playing in the game can finally get a rest and train and prepare for the game better. At the same time, the players who have returned from injury are also very eager to help the team."