Perhaps it was not the result Tottenham Hotspur wanted to get out of their UEFA Europa Conference League play-off match up against Pacos De Ferreira, but Nuno Espírito Santo made sure to provide opportunities and experience for the younger players in the squad.

Spurs lost to the Portuguese side 0-1 in the first leg, and Espírito Santo featured a bench of only academy players, which included Michael and Matthew Craig.

History

The Craig's made history as the first ever identical twins to appear in a men’s first team matchday squad for Tottenham Hotspur.

The Brothers, who were born just two minutes apart at Barnet Hospital on 16 April, 2003, signed their first professional contracts with Spurs  last season.

The 18 year-olds both play as central midfielders, and in large part thanks to the great performances they've had while playing with the development squad, they were amongst the Spurs substitutes for the newly formed European competition. 

“I quite enjoy it (having a twin),” Matthew said before the game. “I’m lucky because I get on with my brother really well so you always have someone to speak to if you need to and if you want to go out and do something you’ve always got someone to do it with. If he doesn’t want to do something I’ll pester him into it!”

Opportunity

Although the twins did not feature in a single pre-season fixture for the 'Lilywhites' senior team, Espírito Santo provided them the opportunity to make history in Portugal. 

The Portuguese manager also gave the chance to three different academy players to make their first team debuts against Pacos De Ferreira, such as Niles John, J'Neil Bennett and Maksim Paskotsi.

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