Argentina is always dangerous because of Lionel Messi, newly the all-time leading World Cup goal scorer.
But La Albiceleste's true superpower is chemistry born out of continuity: 17 players from the team that won the 2022 FIFA men's World Cup carried over to the roster at the 2026 World Cup. One of them is center-back Cristian "Cuti" Romero, who exited in the 57th minute of Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria due to knee injury.
"We don't know the extent of the issue," Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said post-match, per ESPN. "It is, of course, something he had already been dealing with."
Scaloni confirmed that Romero would undergo medical testing on Tuesday or Wednesday, but would not speculate beyond that.
Reporter Gaston Edul reported that Romero "felt discomfort" in the same knee he originally injured in April.
Romero is the captain of Tottenham Hotspur and exited Tottenham's match against Sunderland due to "a partial tear of his medial cruciate ligament," as BBC's senior soccer correspondent Sami Mokbel reported at the time.
Romero missed the remainder of the English Premier League season but, against the odds, was ready to play for Argentina to start this World Cup. He has started the first two matches.
The best news for Argentina is that they've beaten Algeria and Austria to begin their title defense, so they're already qualified for the knockout stage with one group-stage match against Jordan to go.
If rest is all Romero needs, depending on what his medical exam shows, he can miss the Jordan match with no consequence and focus on getting as close to 100% as possible for the knockout stage, where Argentina will look to become the first repeat men's World Cup champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Source: Newsweek
