Cristian Romero's World Cup debut lasted a total of 59 minutes as Argentina started their campaign with a shock 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia. Missing six of Tottenham's last seven games through a muscle fatigue problem, the defender made his return to the pitch after plenty of talk regarding his fitness ahead of the tournament.
Only featuring in Tottenham's 1-1 draw with Sporting CP in the Champions League from their final seven games ahead of the World Cup, Romero was always expected to take his place back in the Argentina team in their first Group C fixture despite his lack of minutes. The centre-back's absence was a major topic of discussion amongst Spurs fans ahead of the World Cup, with many believing that he was saving himself for the World Cup rather than looking to get back on the pitch as soon as possible for his club.
Images of Romero in Argentina training a day after Spurs' late 4-3 win over Leeds United only intensified the talk surrounding him. Named in Lionel Scaloni's XI to take on Saudi Arabia as expected, the ex-Atalanta man lined up as part of a back four and showed no sign of his recent injury issue early on.
READ MORE: What Raheem Sterling did after England goal highlights underappreciated Harry Kane quality
Slightly different to his usual position in Tottenham's back three, the Argentina setup meant that Romero had to be more disciplined defensively given his tendency to push on regularly from his role on the right and help out in attack. However, he still did have an impact going forward, notably inside the first 90 seconds as he played a ball over the top to Angel Di Maria that resulted in Lionel Messi almost scoring with his first touch of the ball.
Five minutes before half-time brought about one of his trademark runs forward. Pushing upfield and linking up with Di Maria once again, Romero carried on his run and received the ball back in the box, only for his pass to Lautaro Martinez to be cut out after a sharp turn to lose his marker.
Only leading 1-0 at the break after having three goals ruled out for offside following Messi's early penalty, Argentina's slender lead was cancelled out moments after the restart. Not exactly convincing at the back in the first half despite their opponents rarely troubling them, Saudi Arabia duly punished Scaloni's side with Saleh Al-Shehri easily getting the better of Romero, who looked far from sharp.
Knocking the ball past him on the edge of the box and advancing, the striker shot across goal to find Emi Martinez's bottom corner as Romero desperately lunged in to try and get a block on the effort. It was to get even worse for Argentina moments later as Salem Al-Dawsari doubled their lead with a fine attempt that found the top corner.
Romero was on hand to make a very good block with his head seconds earlier but the ball ended up in Al Dawsari's possession and the winger jinked his way past a couple of opponents before finding the net in style to spark wild scenes inside Lusail Stadium. That was to be Romero's last involvement in the game as he was hooked five minutes later as Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez replaced him as part of a triple substitution.
Perhaps not fully there in terms of his fitness just yet after his recent absence or Scaloni had just seen enough, it wasn't a World Cup debut for the Tottenham man to remember. The head coach's next selection for Argentina's match against Mexico on Saturday evening could be rather telling.
READ NEXT:
Gareth Southgate's Eric Dier England stance clear after Harry Maguire World Cup injury scare
Pape Matar Sarr can hand Antonio Conte welcome Tottenham surprise with Senegal World Cup chance
Antonio Conte's Djed Spence call amid James Maddison and Anthony Gordon Tottenham transfer talk
- Antonio Conte's Djed Spence decision and his crunch meeting with Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici
- Full list of Tottenham players going to Qatar 2022 World Cup as Eric Dier, Rodrigo Bentancur in
