A place in the pantheon of Argentina centre-backs opened up to Cristian Romero this week when, with his goal in the , the 28-year-old took his place alongside famed names of yesterday such as Daniel Passarella and Roberto Perfumo. It was not just his goal, though, for Romero has been excellent at the , showing plenty of nerve, courage and heart. And this spirit has not gone unnoticed back in his homeland, where he is now seen as a national leader. That leadership was embodied with Lionel Scaloni’s side on the brink of elimination against Egypt on Tuesday as he decided to go up front and grabbed the goal that kick-started Argentina's thrilling comeback. "Going up as a number nine was instinctive, the game leads to passages of play like that when you're two goals down,” he said. “They're things that come from within us because we were losing, because it just wasn't happening for us. I went up, the ball came to me and I headed it in.” Concluding, he added with a laugh: “If Scaloni ever sees me again, he'll kill me!"
As for the Argentina coach himself, he said of Romero: “We were losing 2-0 so I said nothing to him. I'll tell him that sometimes, because he tended to hold on to the ball, he was obsessed with that. [When] he was playing at Atalanta, he did that because he was playing in a different system [and] went up to play as a nine. Against Egypt, at 2-0 down, we can let that slide. But not at 2-1 and after that he went up again. And he knows just how much I hate it."
This entire spectacle came about through one of the Tottenham Hotspur defender’s unique characteristics: his tendency to come out of defence and hunt down opponents further up the pitch than what they would expect, or to drive with the ball as if he were a midfielder. Scaloni has acknowledged that this sense of rebelliousness is a significant part of Romero's identity as a player.
"Sometimes we tell Cuti [Romero's nickname] not to go forward but he'll do it anyway," said Scaloni following a friendly against Ecuador in June 2024, in which the defender set up the only goal for Angel Di Maria. "His ability and willingness to get forward are impressive. Sometimes we hold our head in our hands on the bench, because he leaves a big gap in behind but that instinct pushes him to go [forward]. He showed his true colours, just like he did with Atalanta with his driving runs. He's a maverick. He breeds confidence and we can't take that away from him."
Meanwhile, after Argentina's 1-0 victory over Ecuador in qualifying, Scaloni likened Romero's energy to that of a superhero: "When people put him on a pedestal, he thinks he's He-Man. It's unbelievable.” That said, he suggested that he must learn to conserve his energy: "He's an incredible centre-half. Sometimes he needs to avoid certain runs, because running 50-60 metres isn't good. He tires himself out and leaves the team a bit short at the back. But I'd rather he do that than just let himself go."
The way the 28-year-old plays also reassures his more advanced team-mates, as Rodrigo De Paul explained back in 2023. "Having Cuti in front of me is the best thing that could ever have happened to me as he makes me push up,” he said. “He always wants to be by my side. I've got used to pushing up without looking behind me and that's a joy as a holding midfielder because you look at what's going on ahead of you and you don't tire as much."
said much the same when lauding Romero as "the best centre-back in the world," in September 2023. He elaborated: "Having him behind me is the best thing that could ever have happened to me. He always makes me go forward because he wants to play one-on-one against his opponent. I've got used to not looking behind me and that's good for an attacking player."
All that said, Romero himself understands that no matter how much of a positive impact he has on his team going forward – for example with his goal against Egypt and the huge part he played in Argentina's winner against Cabo Verde – his defensive responsibilities are more important. "It's always nice to score but our job is to shut out the opposition,” he said. “We're doing well but we need to improve as we've conceded four goals in our last two games and that's bothering us."
Romero has had his fair share of injuries during Scaloni's tenure, including in the build-up to this tournament when he suffered a high-grade partial tear to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee on 12 April. This meant he had a race against the clock in order to recover in time to make Argentina's 26-man squad. On top of that, the scars of past injuries resurfaced early in the tournament, in Argentina's Group J meeting with Austria, when he felt similar pain to that caused by the severe ligament strain which forced him to miss much of the Copa America in 2021, only returning for the final against Brazil.
That 1-0 triumph at the Maracana was one of the first steps in Argentina's resurgence. Romero had only represented the senior team for several weeks by that point but was playing as though he had worn the Argentina jersey for many years. Since then, the plaudits have only increased. Walter Samuel, a member of Scaloni’s coaching staff, has likened the Spurs centre-back to himself. Roberto Ayala, another iconic Argentinian defender, has sung his praises too, saying: "He has no fear. We often have to say to him, 'Stop, you're a centre-back.' His clearances and timing are great."
To that, we should add resilience too. At 17, Romero was going through a tough time at Belgrano, his first club, and considering giving up football altogether. Happily for Argentina, he stuck at it: today he already has one World Cup winners' medal and is now pursuing another. , who have reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time in 72 years – and Romero believes that Argentina will need to raise their game for this one. "Every game has been difficult for us and this one will also be tough,” he said. “Switzerland didn't make it easy for Colombia and dominated for large spells. They have big players and it’ll be a good game."
As stated above, he will he focused on shutting out the opposition yet every Argentina fan in the Kansas City Stadium knows that if their team find themselves in a spot of bother again, Romero can be counted on to step up and try to dig them out of trouble.
Sources: FIFA Official
