His 358 appearances underline a dependability that successive managers have leaned on. That figure will likely rise further as he prepares to work under his sixth permanent head coach during the 2025–26 campaign, following the recent dismissal of Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham Keep Veteran Defender with 12-Month Extension
Ben Davies to Stay at Spurs Through 2026 Following Contract Update
Tottenham Hotspur have exercised a 12-month option in Ben Davies’s contract, extending the Welsh international’s stay at the club until the summer of 2026. It’s a move that speaks not just to footballing merit, but to the value of loyalty, versatility, and experience within a squad undergoing another period of transition.
Davies, now the longest-serving player at Tottenham, joined from Swansea City in the summer of 2015, a quiet acquisition in a window that would soon be overshadowed by the arrival of Son Heung-min two months later. Yet while Son has dazzled and led from the front, Davies has anchored himself as a consistent, often understated presence at the back.
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Adaptability and Character
It is a decision rooted in pragmatism as much as sentiment. Davies has proven himself adaptable, having played both as a traditional left-back and more centrally in a back three. His tactical intelligence and team-first attitude have made him a trusted figure in an ever-changing Spurs side.
There is also a human element to this contract extension. While others have come and gone amid Tottenham’s restless search for success, Davies has remained a steady hand, a figure who embodies professionalism and understands the club’s culture. In the era of short-termism and high turnover, players like Davies are invaluable.
Strategic Sense for Spurs
This extension also makes financial and strategic sense for Tottenham. In a market where experienced, home-grown talent is at a premium, securing Davies for another year on current terms represents smart squad planning.
With the club again at a managerial crossroads and in need of leadership within the dressing room, retaining someone with Davies’s experience helps ease the inevitable upheaval. He may not start every game, but his presence will continue to offer balance and assurance on and off the pitch.
In a squad brimming with youth and potential, the calming influence of players like Davies can be crucial, especially during periods of uncertainty. His understanding of Premier League intensity and European competition is something that cannot easily be replaced.
Looking to 2026
As Tottenham look to redefine their identity once more under new leadership, Ben Davies’s continued presence is both a nod to the past and a vote of confidence in what lies ahead. Whether as starter, rotation option, or mentor, his role will be shaped by the needs of the team, and by the tactical demands of whoever steps into the dugout next.
For now, though, one thing is certain: Ben Davies will still be wearing the lilywhite shirt into 2026, and for many supporters, that’s something to quietly appreciate.
When the moment came Cristiano Ronaldo hid his face and leant on his teammates. He scored the goal that put Portugal level in this final but had been withdrawn, exhausted, late in normal time and now, as the men left on the field lined up on the halfway line, he stood on the touchline where he could not watch but could hear the roar as Rúben Neves scored the penalty that took Portugal to the title, and then he slipped to his knees and the tears came. It had taken a shootout but they have their second Nations League, defeating Spain in Munich.
Goals from Martín Zubimendi, Nuno Mendes and then Mikel Oyarzabal had given Spain a 2-1 lead before Ronaldo made it 2-2 on the hour. Now, an hour after that, it all came down to two shots: Álvaro Morata missed Spain’s fourth spot kick and Neves scored Portugal’s fifth to win 5-3 on penalties, allowing Ronaldo to collect the 34th trophy of his career, aged 40. There was a smile, a joke about its weight and then he carried it to his teammates and lifted it into the sky.
It had been a long night, and if this was a battle of the generations between him and Lamine Yamal, as it had been billed, the elder man won it. In truth, though, while the focus was on the Portugal captain and the Spanish teenager, 23 years his junior, cameras following them even when both had been withdrawn and were sitting on the bench, this was about many more players. About Oyarzabal and Zubimendi, Mendes, Rafael Leão and, in the end, Diogo Costa, who dived to his right to save from Morata. Neves then smashed hard and low, turning to see red shirts running towards him.
When it all ended, Luis de la Fuente gathered his players. Nations League winners two years ago, European champions last summer, they had been unable to make it three trophies in a row but he was proud. Spain had started well too: in fact, both times Portugal had drawn level, it had been hard to grasp, although it was also true that Spain faded badly and that Roberto Martínez’s side had been closer to avoiding the shootout.
It hadn’t been long before Lamine Yamal had been taken down by the kind of tackle that said something about his threat, although with the teenager drawing them in on the right the real danger was on the left. There, a superb long diagonal from Dean Huijsen allowed Nico Williams to control brilliantly, dash into the area and pull back for Pedri to sidefoot just wide. From there too, Williams cut inside and whipped fractionally past the far post.
And yet it was through the middle that Spain scored the first when Oyarzabal’s lovely touch sent Zubimendi running through. He found Lamine whose chipped return wasn’t dealt with by Rúben Dias, Neves or Costa and Zubimendi put in the loose ball from close range. Portugal responded fast, Mendes stepping past opponents to hit a hard, clean low shot into the corner. But Spain reasserted themselves and Oyarzabal gave them the lead again on 45, Pedri slipping the pass through for him to turn into the net.
This was the 16th goal Oyarzabal has scored for Spain, his third in a final. His fourth if you include the 2020 Olympics. His was the winner against England last summer but he has lost the other three: the 2021 Nations League final to France, to Brazil at Tokyo 2020, and now here. Because then he appeared, which he tends to do; which he has done so, so many times.
Kylian Mbappé scored his 50th goal for France to help them claim third place in the Nations League with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Stuttgart.
The hosts spurned several chances to take the lead, most notably when Florian Wirtz saw his effort come back off the frame of the goal, before Mbappé struck on the stroke of half-time to put France ahead.
Mbappé is now just one goal off Thierry Henry as France’s second all-time leading goalscorer, with Olivier Giroud in front on 57. The 26-year-old Real Madrid forward teed up the substitute Michael Olise late on to secure victory for the visitors.
Mike Maignan was just as important for France, who lost a nine-goal semi-final thriller to Spain on Thursday, in this third-place playoff as the goalkeeper made important saves throughout. PA Sport
It can seem that Ronaldo is not there at times, but he always is. When Mendes escaped Lamine Yamal and his cross took a deflection, looping up and dropping behind Marc Cucurella, there he was again to volley in from close range. It was his 134th international goal and off he went, pointing at his chest. Spain could hardly believe it. They were not dominating as they had before, not creating either, yet nor had they felt under threat. Now though, with Fabián Ruiz and Pedri departed, the control slipped away, even if Williams did then send a shot whistling wide.
Martínez’s side, meanwhile, were stepping up. The introduction of Leão changed the game. Unai Simón had to save Bruno Fernandes’s free-kick right on 90 minutes and extra time brought a different flow, a different Portugal. They should have had the lead immediately when Mendes, the greatest threat with Leão, set up Nélson Semedo for a startling miss from five yards. And with 20 seconds remaining Diogo Jota headed over, their moment instead waiting for them on the penalty spot.
