5 Tottenham Hotspur Players to Watch on International Duty Week of October 6

Several of Tottenham Hotspur's squad will take a break from club matters for a fortnight now with the latest round of international fixtures upon us.

Over the following pages, we look at five Tottenham players on national team duty to keep an eye on over that period.

Qualification for the European Championships is on the agenda for some of them. For others, a possible chance to prove their worth to their respective managers.

We begin with the Spurs youngsters looking to seal a trip to the Czech Republic next summer.

Harry Kane and Eric Dier

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Harry Kane and Eric Dier will be hoping to have plenty to celebrate with the England Under-21s during the international break.

England take on Croatia this Friday in the first leg of their European Under-21 Championships qualifying play-off. Included in their squad are the Tottenham duo Eric Dier and Harry Kane (Tom Carroll and Alex Pritchard, currently on loan from Spurs at Swansea City and Brentford respectively, are also involved).

Manager Gareth Southgate's side comfortably topped Group 1, winning nine of their 10 fixtures. Kane played a big part in ensuring winning momentum was sustained at the group stage's conclusion last month.

Coming off the bench, he scored the only goal away in Lithuania. Four days later, the striker was rewarded with a start against Moldova, and he notched England's third in a 3-0 win.

Knocking on the first-team door at Tottenham with goals in cup games versus Nottingham Forest and Besiktas, the 21-year-old will hope to have done enough to keep his place against Croatia at Molineux.

Dier did not feature in either of those two games, but the defender's impressive start to life in the Premier League may have caught the eye of Southgate. The coach certainly did not rule out changes this week.

"We have some who have been with us for 12 months, and some for less, but they’re a good group to work with," he told the FA's official website.

"Competition for places has been important throughout the campaign. It’s never been about 11 players, we’ve wanted to integrate a squad since the start of last season and this summer."

Andros Townsend

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Andros Townsend was called up but did not feature in England's previous two games.

Roy Hodgson has not forgotten the role Andros Townsend played in helping England qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The winger's positive performances provided some welcome impetus late in the qualifying campaign, and it was unfortunate injury problems that would deny him the chance to feature at the actual tournament.

Fit again at the start of this season, Hodgson included Townsend in the squad for last month's games with Norway and Switzerland. The player did not get on in either game, with the England boss opting for others such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner.

Townsend's Tottenham form has been decent since then, typified by his trademark energy and hard work. Reserved just for cup games, though, Hodgson has made it clear that the 23-year-old will need to play more if he wants to retain his England squad place moving forward.

"[Mauricio] Pochettino at the moment has decided he doesn't want to use him, which is fine by me, but like all players, he runs the risk that the less you play, it does get harder and harder for me to keep faith with players," Hodgson said, via ITV.com. 

"The players have to understand that for me to pick them, they do need to be impressing in some way because I can't keep faith forever in players who are not getting a game."

Townsend will certainly keep that in mind. Nonetheless, he is in the current squad, and this week he will be keen to get some playing time in the European Championship qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia.

The standard of the opposition should provide few problems for England. They will still be keen to put on a good show as they continue to try to re-establish some optimism following their poor World Cup showing. The lively Townsend is well capable of playing a part in that.

"

Well done to @andros_townsend who has been named in the #ENG squad for qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia.

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 2, 2014"

Christian Eriksen

Jens Dresling/Associated Press

Christian Eriksen in action for Denmark against Armenia last month.

Denmark got off to a winning start in European Championships, qualifying Group I by beating Armenia 2-1 at home last month. After missing out on this past summer's World Cup, their midfielder Christian Eriksen was naturally pleased.

"

Happy with the win and the important 3 points! #denmark #2-1 #EURO2016Qualifiers #vejentilfrankrig #endelafnogetstørre

— Christian Eriksen (@ChrisEriksen8) September 7, 2014"

Eriksen and his team now turn their attentions to a potentially tricky game with Albania, who last month beat Portugal 1-0.

The latter were without their talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, but still had considerable talents in their ranks including Joao Moutinho, Nani and Pepe. Even considering for the evident disarray in the Portuguese camp that would cost manager Paulo Bento his job (lingering from their underwhelming World Cup), it was still an impressive win for Albania.

Denmark cannot afford to take them lightly out on Saturday evening, not with a Portugal side that will be keen to bounce back coming into Copenhagen the following Tuesday. Despite the latter's issues of late, they will likely be the Scandinavian side's closest rivals in the group.

Eriksen has been in good form for Spurs. This past Sunday, he scored the winner against Southampton. His manager, Morten Olsen, will ask him to take a leading role in ensuring Denmark do not slip up against Albania.

Erik Lamela

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Erik Lamela scored a terrific goal in Argentina's comprehensive win over Germany last month.

"

#SuperclasicoDeLasAmericas Erik Lamela también se puso a las órdenes de Gerardo Martino en China. pic.twitter.com/QJ20Bg7gez

— Selección Argentina (@Argentina) October 7, 2014"

Argentina have not taken things easy since their World Cup final defeat to Germany.

Last month they exacted a measure of revenge with a rampant 4-2 victory over the Germans in Dusseldorf. This week they take on South American rivals Brazil, in Beijing.

Tottenham attacker Erik Lamela will be relishing the chance to take on high-quality opposition after injury kept him out of the summer's tournament.

Boss Gerardo Martino called him up as a late replacement for the Germany game after Lionel Messi withdrew with injury.

Angel Di Maria stole the show with a goal and three sublime assists, but Lamela played a fine supporting role himself. He struck a superb volley off after Di Maria picked him out on the edge of the box to give Argentina a 2-0 lead before half-time. He linked up well with his team-mates throughout the match.

Kept in the squad for his country's latest fixture, the 22-year-old has another chance to impress his manager in what has been an all-round good start to the season for the Spurs man.

Even halfway across the world in China, any game between Argentina and Brazil is going to be competitive, adding to the importance of this one for Lamela.