Opinion: Cristian Romero’s biggest flaws were exposed v Saudi Arabia

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One major takeaway was that the biggest flaws in Cristian Romero’s game came to light as Saudi Arabia shocked the world by beating Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday.

In the game itself, Lionel Messi fired his nation into a 10^th minute lead from 12 yards out.

Herve Renard’s side were down but certainly not out as they scored twice in the space of five minutes, courtesy of Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawasari to pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.

While the game as a whole will remain a talking point for years to come, a topic of conversation that emerged from the instant classic is how Romero’s most blatant weaknesses were exposed.

The flaws in Romero’s game were brutally exposed

Let’s start with Saudi Arabia’s equaliser itself.

It seemed like a stroll in the park for Saleh Alshehri to leave the Tottenham Hotspur defender for dead before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

There has been an understandable question mark over Romero’s defensive ability this season and his indecisiveness about whether to commit or hold his position allowed Alshehri to ghost past him without breaking a sweat.

The 24-year-old is often slammed for his lack of composure at the back.

And in some senses, this was evident on Tuesday as his shoddy decision-making practically invited Saudi Arabia back into the game.

In possession as well, Romero’s display was a reminder of how much this Argentina side was in desperate need of Lisandro Martinez at the back.

While not every centre-back is expected to break the lines quite with the same ease the Manchester United defender, it is a cause for concern that the £42.5 million (Football.London) man’s passing range is as limited as it is.

Up against the tireless Saudi Arabian press, the Argentine’s struggles in possession made it virtually impossible for his side to build attacks from the back.

While this is not to suggest that Cristian Romero is not a class act on most days but to point out that the question marks are valid, as exemplified by his latest disastrous display.

As brilliant as he can be, Romero needs to evolve further from his all-action approach into a much more well-rounded centre-half as a whole to become the complete package, like his fellow countryman Martinez in some ways.