Joao Palhinha predicts ‘something special' from Spurs despite Super Cup defeat
Spurs were minutes away from winning a second trophy in the space of three months after goals by Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero either side of half-time put them in control in Udine.
PSG upped the ante in the second period and, after Lee Kang-in reduced the deficit with five minutes left, fellow substitute Goncalo Ramos forced spot-kicks with a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time after a 2-2 draw.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank passes the trophy during the medal ceremony (Antonio Calanni/AP)
Vitinha's miss coupled with successful kicks by Dominic Solanke and Rodrigo Bentancur put Thomas Frank's team two up in the shootout, but Van de Ven and Mathys Tel failed to score from the spot and the French side claimed further silverware with a 4-3 victory.
Palhinha was eager to draw on the positives ahead of Tottenham being set to return to Champions League action next month for the first time in three seasons.
'It is football. At the end we are really sad. Not just the players but all the staff, all the crowd that came to support us during the game,' Palhinha said.
'I think we also need to feel proud for what we did until the 80 minutes. You know because we fought all the games with a top team and I think we showed what we are here to get in the future.
'We have all the conditions to achieve good things this season and I think the future will bring us something special.
'I think we have the hunger from all the players to achieve this title. Everyone gave all the maximum in this game and I think we showed what we are capable of.
'We played against a top team and I think we have everything, a top coach, top players in this squad, a top crowd with a lot of hunger to achieve titles and me and my team-mates will fight for it, for sure.
We have all the conditions to achieve good things this season and I think the future will bring us something special
'A tough night, but I know that we will shape good things in the future. We just need to keep our head up.'
This was Palhinha's competitive debut for Spurs after he joined on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich.
Palhinha struggled during his debut campaign in Munich, but is excited to be back in the Premier League and London following two successful years at Fulham before Tottenham's opener at home to Burnley on Saturday.
He said: 'In the Premier League you have also every single week top games. I think we cannot relax and the good thing now is we have another game on Saturday to change the (bad) things and start with the right foot in the Premier League.
'I enjoyed when I played in Fulham the two years that I was there. I really miss the Premier League. I think it's a league that everyone plays and when you play there and go to play outside somewhere else, you miss something.
'I'm really proud to be back again to the Premier League. I'm really happy to be in this top club and top team. I just need to enjoy it.'
Proud.
There's plenty more to come 🤍 pic.twitter.com/bmlpIHmqeV — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 13, 2025
Mohammed Kudus also made his debut for Tottenham and backed them to learn lessons from the defeat.
'We've shown that we can compete at the highest level, we have to take the positives and focus on the tasks we have ahead in the coming season,' Kudus insisted.
'This is a good step, of course a big disappointment but we have a lot more to play this season, a lot more competitions and we take this as a lesson and move forward.'
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