Tim Sherwood forced into U-turn on Tottenham player who's 'stood up' at World Cup

Tottenham defender Djed Spence gave Tim Sherwood and plenty of other doubters reason to backtrack with his latest England display.

Spence has been harshly criticised for his England displays so far at the World Cup.

The full-back has featured in all six games for Thomas Tuchel's men in their run to the quarter-finals.

That includes a couple of starts, although he was not fit enough to play a full part in the last-16 clash with Mexico in the early hours of Monday.

However, Spence was brought on for the final 16 minutes - or closer to half an hour with added time included - and performed admirably as England won 3-2.

Sherwood was impressed by England's resilience in holding on with 10 men, after Jarrell Quansah's red card, with Spence getting particular praise.

Djed Spence changes his England narrative

Many have questioned how Spence is featuring so regularly for England at the World Cup.

Tuchel raised eyebrows in even selecting him in his initial squad, and the German has not been afraid to use the 25-year-old.

Spence made five clearances in his limited time on the pitch against Mexico, which only Dan Burn and Ezri Konsa (both six) could better.

That was on top of one interception as he focused almost solely on defending, summed up by his three passes.

Sherwood gave his reaction to England's display on Sky Sports News on Monday afternoon and said: "I thought Djed Spence was excellent when he came on after a poor performance in the last round. Everyone stood up."

The former Tottenham manager is certainly not alone in praising Spence, whose World Cup numbers speak for themselves.

Spence's World Cup figures make for good reading

As per WhoScored, Spence has averaged 1.4 tackles per game so far at the World Cup - only Jude Bellingham (2.4) and Elliott Anderson (2.8) have registered more.

Spence's 0.4 blocks per game is also the fourth-highest of any England player to have started at least one game.

He also holds his own with an 87-per-cent pass accuracy return, showing he can hold his nerve in possession.

Should he be fully fit, Spence may have earned himself a starting spot when the Three Lions take on Norway on Saturday night.

And nobody, Sherwood included, should be surprised if he holds his own once again.