Michael and Matthew Craig: Who are the Scottish twins in the Tottenham squad for Paços de Ferreira clash?

Two Scottish brothers have made history tonight by becoming the first identical twins to appear in a Tottenham Hotspur matchday squad.

Michael Craig congratulates Marcel Lavinier after his goal for Spurs' Premier League 2 side

Michael and Matthew Craig have both been named by Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo for the English side’s Europa Conference League play-off clash against Portugal’s Paços de Ferreira.

The twins, 18, are part of a very youthful bench with substitute goalkeeper Brandon Austin the elder statesman at the ripe old age of 22.

Michael and Matthew were born two minutes apart in Barnet on April 16, 2003 and have caught the eye for Tottenham’s academy teams in recent years despite starting their careers elsewhere.

Matthew Craig attempts to shield the ball from AFC Wimbledon's Obed Yeboah during an FA Youth Cup third-round tie

Michael was attached to Arsenal Under-12s when Matthew made the move to Spurs, with both having played for Watford as youngsters.

Both players signed their first professional deals with the Lilywhites at the tail-end of last season.

The pair are predominantly central midfielders and have stepped up to Spurs’ development squad this year having featured for the Under-18s during the 2020/21 campaign, although the slightly-younger Matthew can also operate at centre-back.

Michael and Matthew represent Scotland at international level thanks to both their grandfathers hailing from north of the Border – one being Ron Still, the Aberdeen-born forward who spent time with Notts County in the 1960s.

Speaking to the Spurs programme in the past, Matthew said: “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.”

Michael added: “Everyone has players who they have a natural chemistry with and when you spend a lot of your lives together, you just end up knowing what the other person wants from you on and off the pitch.

"That gives you a deeper understanding of how you can work with them to try to dominate games with the team.”

At the time of writing Michael has three caps for Scotland at Under-16 level and three at Under-17 level, making his debut for the 16s alongside Matthew in a 1-1 draw with Wales in November 2018. Matthew has six caps all at Under-16 level.

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