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Joao Neves will miss Paris Saint-Germain's Super Cup clash with Tottenham following his red card in the Club World Cup final. Spurs and PSG will face off in the one-off clash between the between the reigning Champions League and Europa League winners at the Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy on Wednesday. The showdown will be new head coach Thomas Frank's first competitive game in charge of the north London side. It will also mark the Dane's first taste of European football following his arrival from Brentford in June, and he has already been handed a huge boost. European champions PSG will be without key midfielder Neves after he earned himself a two-match suspension in their last outing. In the Club World Cup final in July, the Portuguese star was sent off late in the French side's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea for a pull on Marc Cucurella's hair following a VAR review. This was the first red card of Neves' career, and will also see him miss PSG's Ligue 1 opener against Nantes on Sunday. According to RMC Sports insider Fabrice Hawkins, the French giants have worked around the 20-year-old's absence, putting together a tailored training programme for him since starting their pre-season. With last season's extended schedule and the Club World Cup in the United States, PSG postponed their players' holiday period, and only resumed training on August 6. As a result, Luis Enrique's team are yet to play a warm-up match ahead of the new season, and will return to action in the Super Cup. And they will be looking to make the perfect start to the season by landing silverware, especially after enjoying huge success last term. On top of winning a fourth straight Ligue 1 title, the Parisians finally captured their elusive first Champions League title in May. PSG dismantled Inter Milan with a thumping 5-0 win, thanks to goals from Desire Doue, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelai and Senny Mayulu. Neves also played a significant role, as he started in the historic triumph before being substituted in the 84th minute. His absence is sure to be felt against Tottenham, having been a mainstay in the PSG midfield throughout all of last season. The Portugal star was pivotal in the 2024/25 campaign, making 59 appearances altogether and registering seven goals and 10 assists. Spurs will certainly be looking to take advantage of Neves' suspension, as they head into the clash as underdogs. They booked their spot in the Super Cup by winning the Europa League with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United under previous head coach Ange Postecoglou. But with the Australian later being dismissed following a poor Premier League campaign and replaced by Frank, the final represents the perfect chance for the 51-year-old make his mark. Speaking ahead of the final, Spurs' new boss admitted his side face a huge challenge, and urged his players to draw on their previous final experience as they eye up more silverware. Frank told UEFA. com: "We're playing in a final - it's fantastic. "Hopefully we can use some of the experience we have from the last final that the team played against Manchester United. "[Paris] are the best team in Europe. They won the treble and it looks like they are extremely strong in all 11 starting positions. "It's a fantastic challenge to have in the first game but, of course, we believe in ourselves. We're going to a final and there will be one objective – try to win it. "We don't see it as a test; we see it as two good teams against each other, and we want to win. " © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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