Thus, it should have come as little surprise when the North London club returned from the World Cup break rather out of sorts. What should have been a routine victory against Brentford ended up being a 2-2 draw. Even more alarmingly for Tottenham, they had to claw their way back from 2-0 behind. Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney gave Brentford the lead before Kane and Højbjerg made sure that Tottenham would leave the Gtech Community Stadium with a share of the points.
With this result, Tottenham's grip on fourth place becomes ever more tenuous. They have now played more matches than have both Manchester United and Liverpool, the two clubs right behind them. Adding to this, many United players had excellent World Cup runs, thus showing that they are in good form at the moment.
At the resumption of domestic league play, concerns over the lingering after-effects of a gruelling World Cup campaign were certainly present. Most of these concerns regarded players who had performed well during the tournament and whether their efforts for their countries would adversely affect their play upon their return to their respective clubs. However, most people failed to consider the other side of the coin: the fact that teams with players who struggled in Qatar would return to domestic actions in the lowest of spirits.
This was clearly evidenced in Tottenham's match against Brentford. For the majority of the match, Tottenham were outplayed in just about every facet. They could easily have been three goals behind had they not been spared by an offside call. Their second goal even came by way of a defensive error; Eric Dier's errant clearance went out of bounds for a corner kick from which Toney put Brentford 2-0 ahead. Though Tottenham did end up pulling themselves together towards the end, it was obvious that they were mentally burdened by their collective World Cup struggles - and this was reflected in their play.
Considering how tight the race for a top-four Premier League spot and a corresponding spot in next season's Champions League is right now, Tottenham cannot afford to enter a World Cup-driven slump. However, from the evidence on display in this match, that scenario is looking like a distinct possibility.
There was, however, one important bright spot for Tottenham. Harry Kane scored on his return to Premier League play and thus overcame much heckling related to his World Cup penalty miss. Somewhat surprisingly, he seemed to be one of the few Tottenham players who was largely unfazed by how his World Cup went. It should go without saying that Tottenham will need this from him in just about every single match if they are to make the top four.
With the mid-season transfer window approaching, Tottenham will almost certainly have to make some moves if they are to clinch back-to-back Champions League qualifications for the first time in four years. Among the notable players who have been linked to a move to Tottenham include Adrien Rabiot, Alexis Mac Allister, Harry Maguire, and Sofyan Amrabat. Notably, all four had very successful World Cup campaigns; once the post-tournament fatigue if any wears off, signing one or more might be what Tottenham need to "cure" their World Cup hangover.
Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League campaign is at a crossroads. In one month's time, it might have completely fallen apart if things do not change soon. Of course, the next few weeks will be critical to their season. In any case, time is certainly running out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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