Tottenham star Cristian Romero started again when Argentina faced Chile in their second game of Copa America 2024.
The defending champions are once again the favourites to go all the way in the competition, but they haven’t looked as convincing as they have done in the past.
However, like they did against Canada, Argentina managed to pick up all three points against Chile at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Romero helped keep another clean sheet for the Albiceleste with an excellent display at the back alongside Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez.
Here’s how the Tottenham defender’s performance was rated and reviewed by his country’s press.
Argentina’s media react to Cristian Romero’s performance vs Chile
On his day, Romero is among the best defenders in South America.
The Argentine has been at Tottenham for three years now, and we’ve seen all the sides to his game. From recklessness to being positionally careless, there have been flaws in his game in the past.
However, when he is at it, there are very few centre-backs who are as good as him.
After a fine performance from Romero against Canada in the opening game of this year’s Copa America, the Spurs star was given the nod again in Argentina’s clash against Chile.
Once again, Romero had a solid game at the back,
The World Champions were made to work hard and it took Lautaro Martinez’s 88th-minute goal to seal the win, but Romero and co kept Chile at bay with excellent defending.
Argentine media outlets are really impressed with the Tottenham vice-captain.
Tyc Sports named Romero the star of the match and gave him an 8/10 rating. They wrote: “Another outstanding performance from the best central defender of the moment.
“It is more than respect what he imposes on his rival. A beast. A key figure again.”
Ole rated him 7/10 and said: “Security in individual duels, good ball handling at the start and premium advances in the rival half.”
Pagina 12 gave Romero an 8/10 rating and wrote: “Solid in one-on-one and always winning from above, he also decisively attacked through the centre.
“He even encouraged himself with a couple of passes between the lines as if to show that the occasional midfield role does not suit him badly.”
READ MORE: What Cristian Romero’s Argentina teammates are saying about him after Chile clash
How good were Romero’s stats vs Chile?
Romero has become one of the first names on the sheet in Argentina’s national team.
The defender has the ability to go toe-to-toe with any attacker in the world and still come out on top. He is an incredible defender when he can keep his discipline.
Against Chile late on Tuesday night, Romero had 90 touches of the ball and completed 59 passes, maintaining an 81 per cent passing accuracy.
He made eight tackles, three clearances and two interceptions. He also won 12 of his 15 attempted duels and wasn’t dribbled past once in the entire game (SofaScore).
Those are excellent numbers, and it’s no surprise that his country’s press are raving about his display.