Tottenham star Djed Spence beats Kylian Mbappe in World Cup speed rankings
Tottenham Hotspur are already making their mark at the World Cup, with Djed Spence featuring among the tournament’s fastest players—despite having seen very little action on the pitch.
Spurs have 11 representatives at this summer’s World Cup, hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. For each of them, the dream will be to create lasting memories on the global stage, much like club captain Cristian Romero did in 2022 when he lifted the trophy with Argentina.
While the final is still weeks away, one Tottenham player has already earned a place in the record books—even though he has only featured in a single game so far.
Spence outranks Mbappé in World Cup speed standings
Tottenham have long boasted some of the quickest players in the game, and the current squad is no exception. Micky van de Ven is widely regarded as the fastest not just at Spurs but in the entire Premier League, having set the record for the highest recorded sprint speed in league history at an astonishing 37.38 km/h (23.23 mph).
Now, full-back Spence has entered a similar conversation at the World Cup—though he hasn’t claimed the top speed spot.
According to BBC Sport, Spence ranks inside the top ten fastest players from the opening round of group-stage matches. The right-back clocked a top speed of 35.2 km/h, placing him joint seventh among those who recorded the highest sprint speeds on matchday one—this despite being introduced as a late substitute against Croatia and playing just ten minutes.
Spence and Son edge out Mbappé
Interestingly, tied with Spence in seventh place is Tottenham legend Heung-min Son, who is representing South Korea at the tournament. The former Spurs forward also registered a top speed of 35.2 km/h. Both players sit ahead of Kylian Mbappé, who ranks ninth with a top sprint of 35.1 km/h, while Pedro Neto rounds out the top ten at 34.8 km/h.
At the summit of the speed charts, Jordan Bos leads with 36.7 km/h, followed by Erling Haaland and Khushannov, who both recorded 36.5 km/h. Mohamed Touré clocked 35.8 km/h, Ryan Gravenberch 35.6 km/h, and Alan Minda 35.5 km/h.
