In Lionel Scaloni’s list of players called up to the World Cup, many will have believed that Tottenham’s Cristian Romero would be guaranteed a spot at the competition.
However, having missed the last few games for Spurs because of a hamstring injury, his fitness wasn’t the best, and he missed out the recent friendly against the United Arab Emirates.
The Tottenham player watched his compatriots win 5-0 from afar, and after the game, Scaloni made a rather surprising comment, claiming the list of players to feature in the World Cup proper could still change.
AS relay the manager’s quotes, and add this could be ‘bad news and a last minute twist’ for four players, naming Nico Gonzalez, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Tagliafico and Alejandro Gomez as those most likely to be affected.
Scaloni 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. Luckily, or bad luck, we can change. I hope not, but there is the possibility. The other list is closed. There are several who were left out as a precaution and who were not fit to play.”
Therefore, if Romero doesn’t make good progress in his recovery, there is a chance the Tottenham player could still miss out on featuring in the World Cup.
It’s something Scaloni, the player and everyone at Spurs will be wanting to avoid, but if he’s not fit, then he would just be taking the spot of someone who is well enough to play and contribute if needs be.
