In the disorientation of the moment, as Djed Spence lay on the turf, the pain radiating from the left side of his jaw, it was tempting to wonder what flashed through his mind. The Tottenham full-back had been cleaned out by the elbow of Chelsea’s Liam Delap in the closing stages of the penultimate game of the Premier League season. Spence had eyes only for the high ball while Delap looked directly at his opponent before spinning and throwing out his left arm.
For starters, there had to be surprise that Delap was not sent off. “Yeah, it was a crazy challenge,” Spence says. What about his involvement in Spurs’ final match of their relegation battle at home against Everton? And beyond that, the World Cup? Did he fear it might be all over for him?
Perhaps Spence did not realise he had broken his jaw because he picked himself up and played on until the end of Spurs’ 2-1 defeat – a result that meant they had to get at least a draw against Everton to stay up. Or maybe his competitive courage overrode everything. But Spence’s answer is certainly a good one; revealing, too. He was not worried about anything. “No, not really,” he says. “It was painful but luckily I play football with my feet and not my jaw. So I was all good.”
Spence is in the US with the England squad, looking ahead to Wednesday’s final warm-up game against Costa Rica in Orlando and the opening World Cup group match versus Croatia in Dallas on the Wednesday after that. He has made it with the assistance of a protective jaw brace. The 25-year-old wore it against Everton as Spurs won 1-0 to avoid the unthinkable. He wore it against New Zealand in England’s first warm-up friendly on Saturday in Tampa; another 1-0 win, Spence setting up the goal with a perfect cross for Harry Kane. And he will continue to wear it in matches for the duration of the summer. He remains supremely unruffled.
“It’s a little bit uncomfortable but it is what it is,” Spence says. “I’ve got a broken jaw so I have to wear it throughout the tournament. It’s something I will have to get used to. It’ll be three months until it’s fully healed, so it’s a long time. I’ve been wearing it in training, getting used to it in the heat and just trying to fit in it properly, break it in.”
Spence’s selection by Thomas Tuchel was met with surprise in some quarters. Why did the manager not prefer Myles Lewis-Skelly or Lewis Hall at left-back? Or even Luke Shaw? But Tuchel has picked Spence in each one of his squads this season. Lewis-Skelly was in the two at the outset, Hall the one in March. Tuchel has never selected Shaw.
Tuchel likes Spence for reasons that go beyond his toughness. Spence is the fastest player in the World Cup squad. He is excellent in defensive one-on-ones. And then there is his versatility; Spence is a right-back by trade but he has been repurposed by Spurs on the left side in the past two seasons. Tuchel has Reece James and Tino Livramento as his main right-backs but both have had fitness issues.
“I’m naturally a right-back, but I’ve been playing left-back for a couple of years now,” Spence says. “I’m still learning the position, still trying to get better, but versatility is a good strength to have. I haven’t played on the right for a long time, but it’s still a strong position for me and hopefully I might be out there on the right in this tournament. But, if not, I’m happy to be there on the left. It’s my position now.”
Spence played well against New Zealand and he picked a good time to produce his first assist of the season in his 48th game for club and country. He is also yet to score and he knows he must do more in attacking terms. “Yeah, definitely,” he admits. “Everyone knows how good I am one v one but going forward is a bit different playing on the left because it’s not my natural side going forward. There’s still stuff I can improve on and I’ve got to try to get more numbers.”
Spence is not a guy to hide his light under a bushel and he has joked on social media about how he has locked up opposing wingers. Arsenal turned the tables on him after their derby win at Spurs in February, posting a video of Spence being dispossessed by Bukayo Saka and Cristhian Mosquera with the caption “locked up” and a padlock emoji. Spence retaliated after Arsenal’s Champions League penalty shootout defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, replying to their three-month-old post with the eyes emoji and one for an open padlock.
Saka and Arsenal’s other England players Declan Rice, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze joined up with the squad on Saturday night, having been given the week off after the PSG gamefinal. Did Spence expect a bit back from them? “No,” he says. “No jokes, no jokes. We have to focus on the tournament and hopefully it’s going to be a good one. We can joke afterwards.”
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