Djed Spence may have changed Roberto De Zerbi's mind as Alan Shearer reacts to England 'nonsense'

Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence put in an impressive cameo as England fought back to beat Norway.

The Three Lions needed extra time to get past Stale Solbakken's men 2-1 in Miami to set up a World Cup semi-final with old rivals Argentina.

England found themselves trailing to Andreas Schjelderup's somewhat fortuitious opener in the 36th minute.

Jude Bellingham stepped it up, though, levelling with a fine individual goal, and following up Morgan Rogers' saved effort to make it 2-1 in extra time.

Spence was brought on in the 85th minute, and then played the entirety of extra time, and drew plaudits for his performance.

Indeed, there were plenty of aspects of his performance that might just have created a re-think for Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Has Djed Spence earned another Tottenham chance?

It reports are to believe, then Spence may not be a Tottenham player for too much longer.

The 25-year-old is drawing reported interest from Everton, and there is a prospect that Spurs could cash in this summer.

But De Zerbi will have enjoyed several aspects of Spence's performance, not least his impressive willingness to close down in the extreme Miami heat.

There was one moment in particular where Spence almost scored after sprinting from left-back to close down Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

Defensively, Spence was simply excellent, winning one tackle, making one interception, and finishing with four clearances.

Those contributions were crucial in keeping Norway at bay during those tense final moments.

But he also made two recoveries for England, while winning three of four ground duels, and his one solitary aerial duel, in an all-action cameo.

Going forward, he had a successul dribble to his name, made five carries, and even managed to register a shot on target.

He was also desperately unlucky to see a penalty decision overturned, a moment that left Alan Shearer seething.

Alan Shearer fumes at Djed Spence penalty decision

With England having already gone ahead thanks to Bellingham's second, there was an almighty flash point.

Spence marauded into the Norway box, then was awarded a penalty after being felled by Oscar Bobb.

However, referee Clement Turpin was sent to the pitchside monitor, and overturned his original decision after deciding Spence had manufactured the contact.

Shearer, speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, felt it was a "nonsense" decision, and described Spence as "magnificent".

He said: "Spence came on I thought he was absolutely magnificent up and down that left-hand side, I thought the decision to deny him a penalty was a joke, I thought that was rubbish, I thought that was so bad.

"What is Djed Spence meant to do? He's well within his rights to step across him, its not for the ref to decide where he puts his leg.

"He put it across, which you're taught as a forward, as a kid. He did everything right, he did his job perfectly.

"If the defender is stupid enough to make the challenge like he did then you're running the risk of giving the penalty away.

"So, the ref gave it, but for him to then say he's got it absolutely wrong and (it's) a howler was nonsense again. For me it was a clear penalty."

It could not only lead to a Tottenham re-think, but could see Spence start a World Cup semi-final on the biggest stage of all.