Micky van de Ven flashes possible new Tottenham role in Netherlands win

Micky van de Ven played the full 90 minutes in the Netherlands' win over Uzbekistan, with the Tottenham Hotspur star not in his usual centre-back role.

The 25-year-old is hoping to enjoy a memorable summer ahead with his national team, as the Netherlands look to go far in the World Cup.

He's entering the tournament off the back of a largely disappointing season with Tottenham, where he wasn't at his best as Spurs narrowly avoided relegation.

Van de Ven predominantly plays in central defence for Tottenham, but for his country, Ronald Koeman mostly prefers to play him at left-back.

Indeed, this is where he lined up for the Oranje in their final pre-World Cup friendly against Uzbekistan on Monday evening.

His performance there may just give Lilywhites boss Roberto De Zerbi food for thought when constructing his defence of the future too.

How did Micky van de Ven fare vs Uzbekistan?

The match between the Netherlands and Uzbekistan took place in New York City, with kick-off being at 7:45pm UK time on Monday.

Koeman's side ran out 2-1 winners over Fabio Cannavaro's team, but the Dutch were made to work hard for it.

Cody Gakpo opened the scoring on 32 minutes, before Igor Sergeev looked to have rescued a draw with a 92nd-minute equaliser.

However, despite being down to 10, the Netherlands won it through Gakpo's second penalty of the game, this one coming eight minutes deep into added time at the end of the match.

Playing at left-back, Van de Ven has had his doubters over whether that's a role he can play at the top level.

However, his showing against Uzbekistan would strongly suggest that he's more than comfortable playing as a full-back.

As per FotMob, he completed 90 per cent of his passes, played 11 passes into the final third and was accurate with his two long ball attempts.

Meanwhile, he also made three clearances, two recoveries, won his lone ground and aerial duels as well as taking 73 total touches, committing zero fouls and was dispossessed zero times.

Pressure grows on Djed Spence's World Cup campaign

As things stand, Van de Ven looks likely to remain at centre-back for Tottenham next season should he stay in N17.

But should he put in some more strong performances at left-back during the World Cup, then De Zerbi may be forced to consider switching him to the flank back at Spurs.

Djed Spence will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Van de Ven's showings over the summer, as he's not cemented as the long-term Lilywhites starter there either.

Spence did play well for England at left-back in his 45 minutes against New Zealand, grabbing the assist for Harry Kane's winning goal with a nice cross into the box.

But with Destiny Udogie finishing 2025-26 in good form and with Van de Ven now flexing his muscles at full-back, the battle for Tottenham's starting left-back spot is going to be a fascinating one moving forward.