Roy Keane praised Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero for the part he played from the bench during Argentina’s 2-0 win at the 2022 World Cup over Mexico, as he told ITV Sport.
This was a must-not-lose game for Argentina. After getting humbled by Saudi Arabia, the pre-World Cup favourites were heading for a possible early and shocking exit in Qatar.
But up stepped the little magician, one of the greatest of them all in Lionel Messi, who opened the scoring with a brilliant low-drive in the second half to calm the nerves of his fans in Doha and around the world.
Just before Messi scored, Lionel Scaloni introduced Enzo Fernandez into the action, who would go on to score his side’s second goal, before also adding Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Julian Alvarez and Exequiel Palacios into play.
Those five players impressed Keane and he liked the ‘energy’ they brought to the table, which allowed Argentina to crawl over the line and secure a well-deserved and much-needed three points.
“We go back to the importance of players off the bench,” said Keane. “We have seen the last few days some players come on and make no difference.
“The subs today came on, brought a bit of energy, quality and gave them that momentum. After they got that first goal, they were never losing that game.”
ROMERO AT THE WORLD CUP
On the domestic stage, Romero has been outstanding for Spurs and it’s a big reason why the £42 million star (Sky Sports) was brought to north London.
That form has also translated itself onto the international stage, including helping Argentina win the Copa America.
But, during Argentina’s shocking opening defeat to Saudi Arabia, he had a game to forget and he will be hoping his side can reach the knockout stages and he can get back to his best.
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