Why Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero could be sent back home by Argentina before 2022 FIFA World Cup
Manager Lionel Scaloni has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero, along with a handful of other Argentina stars, are yet to be guaranteed a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Romero was named in the 26-man squad for the competition after recovering from a hamstring injury that made him miss five games. However, it seems that he hasn’t fully recovered and isn’t completely match fit.
The former Juventus defender was seen training with his teammates in Qatar but missed his nation’s 5-0 friendly win against the United Arab Emirates earlier this week due to not being match-fit.
As per AS (h/t the Express) Nico Gonzalez, Nicolas Tagliafico and Papu Gomez all did not feature in the match for the same reason, although Gonzalez was named in the matchday squad. Speaking after the game, Scaloni, who travelled to the 2006 World Cup as a player for La Albiceleste, said:
“It is true that some did not play out of caution. Today those who could have played, and those who could not play more minutes we changed them, they are all old enough to know how they feel and how much they can play.”
“We have some little problems. We will be waiting during these days, to see if we will have to make any changes to the list. There may be changes. We have a few days to decide the topic of the list. If I’m honest, I can’t say 100% today, but we have time.”
It’s a tough one for Spurs fans. They would hate to see Romero’s World Cup dream ending in this manner, but then again, exclusion from the competition means the star Tottenham centre-back can recover properly before club football resumes after the World Cup.
Moreover, he would be safe from any further injuries if he has to sit back home. Along with Eric Dier, Romero is our most important defender.
Scaloni has clearly preferred to play Romero and he was an important part of their journey to the Copa America 2021 title. It won’t be a surprise to see the Argentina boss retain Romero and keep him even if it means he isn’t fit by the time Argentina face Saudi Arabia on 22 November.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Tottenham Hotspur praised for Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski “masterstroke”
- Chelsea star Raheem Sterling lavishes praise on Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane
- Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane backed to fire England to 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final
The latest on this situation is that the Argentina boss has taken the decision to leave out Gonzalez from his 26-man squad and replace him with Angel Correa.
