Former Tottenham captain Cristian Romero stated that Argentina played with a battered squad when they eliminated England from the World Cup. England held a 1-0 advantage and stood close to reaching their initial final since 1966 before Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez secured a late comeback. Argentina subsequently celebrated by displaying a pitch banner translating to, \"The Falklands are Argentine\".
Romero, who joined Atletico Madrid in August, added to the defeat by asserting that he and his colleagues lacked full fitness. Speaking to Los Edul, he stated, \"I don't know if I'd call it a miracle, but the whole World Cup was tough for us physically.\" He added, \"Several of us barely made it, like me.\"
He expressed gratitude to manager Lionel Scaloni, saying, \"I thanked Scaloni for bringing me along because, perhaps, if it had been another coach, he would have ruled me out from the start.\" He detailed the physical toll on the team, noting, \"During the tournament we had injuries. We had Lea with a rib fracture that nobody talks about, me, who after England couldn't train because of the tendon injury, Licha the same, Moli too, Tagliafico, barely fit, Dibu with a broken finger. We gave everything we had.\"
Argentina advanced to face Spain in the final. During that match, Argentina managed only 32 per cent of possession and recorded zero shots on target.
Romero, substituted in the 70th minute, stated that squad fitness worsened following the England fixture. He noted, \"I couldn't train on almost any of the days leading up to the final. I barely made it, with a couple of pills, an injection, but my body couldn't take any more for the second half. It made me angry to go into the game under those conditions, you always want to be there, you can't say no to a final.\"
