Tottenham came up just short in their Europa League second round, second leg game against Befica in Portugal, as coach Tim Sherwood tinkered with his line-up to include Brazilian midfielder Sandro in a more withdrawn role.
Sandro, seen as a tough tackling box-to-box player, was deployed in central defence alongside the inexperienced Zeki Fryers and the English club almost overcame the 3-1 first leg score only to end up drawing 2-2 on the night.
The interesting decision to play Sandro at the back could well aid Luiz Felipe Scolari in his squad make-up for the World Cup as he is looking for central defence cover for Thiago Silva and David Luiz. If the Brazil coach was suitably impressed by Sandro’s Spurs contribution, it may well tempt him to call up the player this summer as a utility member, which would effectively free up another squad spot for another candidate.
Sandro has 17 caps already and has scored one international goal.
