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World Cup proves that Tottenham has top talent - Christian Eriksen

Christian Eriksen says the World Cup served as a great advertisement for Tottenham, showing that the club boasts some of the top players on the planet.

Nine Spurs players reached the semifinals in Russia, while captain Hugo Lloris went on to lift the trophy with France.

The consequence is that a sizeable group of Spurs' best players are still on holiday and are missing the squad's preseason preparations in the United States, but Eriksen, who reached the round of 16 of the World Cup himself with Denmark, believes the tournament allowed Tottenham to enhance their reputation around the globe.

"If you look at the number of players we had at the World Cup and showing who they are as players, it's been a very successful thing," he said ahead of Tuesday's International Champions Cup match against AC Milan at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

"We had nine players in the semis, which means of course that our team out here is different to what it would usually be. But the World Cup is definitely a good place to show that when you're at Tottenham you can be a top player."

Kieran Trippier certainly caught the eye at the World Cup with England, impressing with his dead-ball deliveries and scoring a free kick in the semifinal against Croatia.

Eriksen, who usually takes the set pieces at Spurs, is now braced for a challenge this season.

"Of course he is welcome [to take some]," the 26-year-old said. "If he thinks he can score then he can take some. But I do think it'll be a close call. I do think I'll claim it first, but he can definitely have a go."

In addition to the players who reached the World Cup semifinals, Mauricio Pochettino will be missing a number of injured players against AC Milan.

Harry Winks, Josh Onomah and Juan Foyth stayed in London to continue their rehabilitation, while Victor Wanyama, Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela have all picked up problems during the tour.

The silver lining, Pochettino says, is that he has been able to give game time to a number of youngsters against Roma and Barcelona -- and Eriksen has been impressed by the academy players, particularly 17-year-old central midfielder Oliver Skipp.

"All of the young players have really shown great character," he said. "They come in and want to play. They're very confident coming into the tour, all of them.

"A lot of them have trained with us a few times, like Luke Amos and Anthony Georgiou. But I think the guy who's the youngest is probably Skippy, who's really taken the game in his hands and is trying to do his thing. He's been very good.

"[I've been impressed] first of all with his courage. He's not scared to get the ball, he's not scared to go forward and he's not scared to tackle. He's an all-round midfielder and I think with a lot of training, as he gets older, he will be there."