Tottenham star Cristian Romero shines for Argentina despite 2-1 defeat to Colombia
Tottenham Hotspur star Cristian Romero was on international duty for Argentina on Tuesday night.
Argentina faced Colombia in a 2026 World Cup qualifier away from home—a rematch of the Copa America final in July which the former had won. However, Colombia managed to avenge their Copa America final heartbreak by beating Lionel Scaloni’s side 2-1 at home.
Yerson Mosquera opened the scoring in the first half with a towering header but Nico Gonzalez equalised minutes after the restart. Experienced Argentinean defender Nicolas Otamendi was adjudged to have fouled Nahual Molina in the box after a VAR review, and Colombia skipper James Rodriguez dispatched the subsequent penalty with authority in the 60th minute to give the hosts the points.
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As a result, Argentina failed to build on their 3-0 win over Chile. The defending World champions may have fallen to a defeat, but Cristian Romero did his reputation no harm with a solid display at the Estadio Metropolitano.
The Spurs defender started in central defence alongside Otamendi and played the full 90 minutes for La Albiceleste. The Cordoba-born ace came up against an in-form Luis Diaz, who headed to the international break after scoring a brace in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Romero did exceptionally well to keep Diaz under the wraps as the Colombia star failed to add to his four-goal tally. The £165,000-per-week Tottenham man made four interceptions, four tackles, won 5/5 ground duels, had 41 touches on the ball and completed 28/31 passes with a 90% accuracy (Stats courtesy: SofaScore). He was
at the right place and at the right time often, defending on the front foot and aggressively as the Argentinean usually does.
The 2022 World Cup winner was not at fault for Mosquera’s opener while Colombia’s second goal came from the spot. It was a busy outing in Colombia, and regardless of La Albiceleste falling to defeat, Romero was one of his nation’s best performers. The centre-back once again underlined why he is such an important member of Lionel Scaloni’s side and can return to North London with his head held high.
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Romero will now turn his entire focus towards Spurs, who are preparing to host bitterest rivals Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday in the Premier League.
