Lionel Messi praised Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero’s performance against Australia in the round of 16, which Argentina won 2-1 and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Argentina dominated Australia for the majority of the game, and despite a late equaliser from Australia, a stunning Messi finish and a Julian Alvarez strike were enough for Argentina to win.
And Romero stood out in the back, putting in a strong performance that helped his team advance to the next round. When asked who he thought was the man of the match, Messi named the Spurs defender for being ‘prominent’ on and ‘experienced’ on the field.
Romero was rushed back into the team from his injury for the opening game against Saudi Arabia which they dramatically lost 2-1. He was assumingly dropped in the second game but has since then fought his way back into fitness for Spurs.
Lionel Messi said (via AlbicelesteTalk):
“Who I would give the MOTM other than me? It is difficult to mention a specific player, but if I have to mention a player, it is Cuti Romero. He is prominent and experienced on the field.”
Leo Messi: “Who I would give the MOTM other than me? It is difficult to mention a specific player, but if I have to mention a player, it is Cuti Romero. He is a prominent and experienced on the field.“ pic.twitter.com/jfwtHh5CBm
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) December 3, 2022
“[Netherlands are] a very difficult opponent. We all know the kind of players they have. Now we have to enjoy it for an hour or two and already today we will be thinking about how we will play against them.
“We are 26 warriors, everyone is ready and the coach will decide the eleven that play but we are going to live our lives as we always do.”
Tottenham paid Atalanta £43 million for Romero who joined in August, and despite a couple of injury layoffs, the 24-year-old has established himself as a regular in manager Antonio Conte’s team.
