Antonio Conte revealed Hugo Lloris will start Tottenham's Boxing Day fixture at Brentford on the bench after losing the World Cup final, while the Spurs coach backed Harry Kane to respond to his spot-kick woe.
Despite enjoying a strong campaign in Qatar, Lloris was unable to help Les Bleus to a successful defence of the trophy as they lost a dramatic final against Argentina after a penalty shoot-out.
The goalkeeper was one of three Tottenham players whose countries went the distance at the tournament, along with Argentina's Cristian Romero and Croatia's bronze medallist Ivan Perisic.
While Perisic will be available to make an immediate return to Premier League action on Monday, Conte is aware of the need to hand the others a period of rest.
"About the players that played the final and third-fourth-place game, Perisic, Hugo and Cuti [Romero]... only Ivan, who came back today and had a training session with us, is available for the game against Brentford," Conte said on Friday.
"About Lloris, we want him to stay with us, and we also want him to stay on the bench against Brentford.
"As you know, it is important after the World Cup to give a bit of rest to these players. About Cuti, he will be available for the next game against Aston Villa [on January 1], I hope."
Lloris was not the only Tottenham player to see his World Cup campaign end with penalty heartache, with England striker Kane firing a spot-kick over the crossbar as the Three Lions were beaten by France in the last eight. Lloris was again the man in goal for France.
However, Conte has no concerns over how Kane will react to that disappointment, backing the striker to move on swiftly,
"We're talking about a world-class striker, and you know football is like this," Conte said. "When I was a player, I never missed a penalty because I didn't kick. Never! I was a real disaster at it.
"But with a penalty I lost a World Cup final against Brazil [in 1994], and I think you live these moments, and you are really disappointed.
"For sure, for the first period you are sad, but then you know that you have to move on. Football gives you the opportunity to have other chances to enjoy.
"Football gives us the possibility to play the sport we have a lot of passion for. Honestly, I am not worried about him. I saw him very well in these two days with us."
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
RFEF elects Rocha as new president
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed Pedro Rocha as its new president.
Rocha has been elected as Luis Rubiales' replacement, despite being under investigation for corruption.
He had been serving as interim president since Rubiales resigned in September over the scandal caused when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's Women's World Cup triumph in August.
In a statement released on Friday, the RFEF said: "Pedro Rocha has today been proclaimed the new president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after having received the support of the majority of the assembly members of this institution that governs Spanish football.
"The process followed the procedure agreed by the Electoral Commission, which met this morning, and the timetable that was established for these elections."
Rocha has been under investigation since earlier in April, after the RFEF's headquarters was raided by police last month. The Spanish government announced on Thursday that it would be stepping in to oversee the running of the organisation.
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