As the sun shone on Bramall Lane during the final day of a long and eventful season, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that they would be playing in the Europa League for the 2024/25 campaign. After losing Harry Kane a day before the season started, changing philosophies under Ange Postecoglou and having to deal with one of the worst injury crises known to man, it was an impressive performance for the boys in white.
With attacking football and a manager who is determined to win at all costs, the future looks bright for Spurs. “The future looks Lilywhite,” as previous videos from the club have suggested, yet they still need to undergo a rebuild in north London. They started in 2023, bringing in a handful of players such as Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, one of the best signings in the league, and Brennan Johnson, but there is still a long road ahead – with plenty of obstacles – before they even get close to the elite teams of Arsenal and Manchester City.
This is a project for the club after all. Their pre-season tour in the summer of 2024 will allow them to continue building on the foundations which they laid in 2023, whilst also working on set pieces — an issue that has proved costly in the Premier League. Here’s everything you need to know about the club’s preparations.
Pre-Season Tour
Tottenham are travelling to Asia once again for their 2024 pre-season tour. They will begin by playing in Japan before making the trip to South Korea. The Lilywhites have a history of going on tour in Asia in recent times. Excluding the years impacted by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, when Spurs were forced to stay at home, 2018 was the last time they travelled somewhere else.
Most recently, they visited Thailand and Singapore in 2023, while Antonio Conte prepared his side for a prolonged and tiring 2022/23 season with a trip to South Korea. The current incumbent, Ange Postecoglou, made his support of the decision clear earlier in 2024. The Australian was in charge of Yokohama Marinos from 2018 to 2021, as he quickly created a connection with the side’s passionate fanbase. He knows all about the country, which he highlighted when the announcement was made.
I’m delighted to be taking Tottenham Hotspur to Japan this summer for an exciting fixture against Vissel Kobe. This friendly will be another step in our preparations for the 2024/25 season.
Meanwhile, it’s not hard to see why Spurs will be visiting South Korea either. Club captain Son Heung-min, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in their history, has built up a huge fanbase worldwide, but more specifically in his home country. If you go to a Spurs match, you will see a constant stream of supporters from the nation cheering the side on. They’re not there just to see Son either, despite what some may suggest; they genuinely care about the club, just like any other supporter. This year, they will get an easy option to see the Lilywhites instead of trekking halfway across the world. Announced on the day after the close of the season, Donna-Maria Cullen, Executive Director at the club, made her delight about the decision clear:
It is fantastic to have the opportunity to engage with our huge fanbase in the country. I know Sonny in particular can’t wait to play again in front of his home fans, and it will be exciting for him to return while representing us as Club Captain.
Fixtures and Results
Tottenham started the pre-season period by travelling to face Hearts in Scotland. They have only played one another twice in competitive matches, with Spurs winning one and drawing the other back in 2011. Spurs romped to a 5-1 victory at Tynecastle in mid-July, fielding a strong lineup which included Son, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. Tottenham complete the first UK leg of their tour with a London derby against Queens Park Rangers. They last played the Championship side in 2015 as Kane scored twice away from home to win 2-1.
After their first two matches, Spurs will embark upon the trip to Asia, which will see them face Japanese giants Vissel Kobe. The club have only visited Japan twice, once in 1971 when they embarked on a post-season tour to play three matches against an All-Japan team, whilst in 1991, they took part in the Kirin Cup after winning the FA Cup, remarkably for the last time. During that trip, they played All-11 sides from Thailand and Japan whilst also going head-to-head against Vasco da Gama from Brazil.
Spurs go up against a K-League XI in the first game of their stay in South Korea before finishing pre-season with a fascinating double-header. Tottenham will be playing Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich twice in the space of eight days. Their first match will be in Seoul, whilst the second will be during the Visit Malta Cup at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, taking place a week before the season starts. The history between the two sides in recent years doesn’t need much of an introduction.
Their last encounter saw them go head-to-head in the Champions League group stage. Bayern won 3-1 at home, but more memorably, they destroyed Mauricio Pochettino’s side 7-2 in north London. It is widely seen as one of the most humiliating performances of all time.
More recently, two players have moved from Spurs to Bayern. Harry Kane left his boyhood club, despite being their greatest striker of all time, in 2023 to join the Bavarian behemoths. It was in search of trophies, yet in his first campaign, he failed to win a single piece of silverware. Meanwhile, his friend and former teammate Eric Dier joined him in the south of Germany in January 2024.
Dier had struggled for minutes under Postecoglou, but he has since been rejuvenated in Germany, even if it hasn’t led to trophies. The two matches between the sides this pre-season will provide an opportunity to speak to old friends. It might be an emotional day on 10th August in N17.
Tottenham’s Pre-Season Fixtures and Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Match | Date | Time (BST) | Stadium | City |
Hearts 1-5 Tottenham | 17th July 2024 | 7pm | Tynecastle Stadium | Edinburgh |
QPR vs Tottenham | 20th July 2024 | 3pm | Loftus Road | London |
Vissel Kobe vs Totteham | 27th July 2024 | 11am | Japan National Stadium | Tokyo |
K-League XI vs Tottenham | 31st July 2024 | 12pm | Seoul World Cup Stadium | Seoul |
Tottenham vs Bayern Munich | 3rd August 2024 | 12pm | Seoul World Cup Stadium | Seoul |
Tottenham vs Bayern Munich | 10th August 2024 | 5.30pm | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | London |
Tickets
Tottenham’s official website is the place to go in search of legitimate pre-season tickets. Seats for the Korean section of the Asian tour have already been snapped up, but there is still some availability for fans keen on travelling to Tokyo to see Spurs up against Vissel Kobe.
Tickets for the clash with Bayern Munich at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Visit Malta Cup are also on sale. You have to be a season ticket holder or One Hotspur member to be able to acquire a seat. They are priced at £30 for adults and £10 for under-18s; each member can buy up to four tickets. It means it is likely to be a sell-out in north London.
How to Watch
As has been the case in previous campaigns, Tottenham are showing their pre-season fixtures on their dedicated streaming service, SpursPlay. Annual passes currently cost £45. Not only will this grant you the opportunity to watch the team prepare for a crucial season, but it will also provide you with access to interviews with the team’s stars, tactical analysis and highlights of every match in recent memory.
Tottenham’s goal-laden start to pre-season points towards an entertaining set of friendlies. Only one Spurs player racked up significant minutes at Euro 2024 – Dutch centre-back Micky van de Ven – affording Postecoglou with a fresh squad eager to impress ahead of another top-flight campaign.
Importance of Pre-Season
Pre-season is always an important – and often forgotten – part of the season. It can be the difference between winning the title and narrowly missing out, especially when the tactics are still new and fresh in the memory. Postecoglou has implemented an impressive style of play since joining from Celtic in 2023, but the work is only just beginning.
He has repeatedly mentioned how this is a multi-year project in N17 – and he will be the last person to say he was happy with finishing fifth in the league table. Spurs have suffered from inconsistency, a common trend in the first year of a rebuild, but it will be up to the Australian to change that going into his second year in charge.
It is expected that Spurs will be busy in the transfer window, with a striker, midfielder and left-back seen as priorities. As with other teams, it will be hoped that they can be brought into the club before the start of pre-season, as the trips abroad will provide a chance for them to meet their new teammates and settle into the group. Squad character building is a crucial part of maintaining the team’s morale.