Tottenham's Cristian Romero included in preliminary Argentina squad for World Cup qualifiers
Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero has been included in a preliminary squad for Argentina's upcoming World Cup qualifiers — despite not playing since December.
The 26-year-old has played just 15 minutes of club football since the 2-1 defeat by Ipswich Town on November 10.
A combination of a toe injury and, more recently, a hamstring issue have sidelined him for a lengthy period with his only club appearance coming against Chelsea on December 8, where he played a quarter of an hour.
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He played 45 minutes for his country in the final international break before Christmas, against Paraguay, before a three-game absence preceded the Chelsea match.
Romero has recently returned to training with head coach Ange Postecoglou indicating last week that he was one of three players — alongside fellow defender Micky van de Ven and striker Dominic Solanke — who had an 'outside chance' to play against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday and had 'much better odds' for the Premier League meeting with Bournemouth at the weekend.
Argentina face Uruguay (March 21) and Brazil (March 26) over the international break.
#SelecciónMayor Prelista de convocados para la doble fecha de #Eliminatorias ante Uruguay y Brasil 🫡 pic.twitter.com/p0GtQuwt8O
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) March 2, 2025
Former Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso — now of Real Betis — is also part of the squad for the games, as well as Villareal defender Juan Foyth, who played for Spurs between 2017 and 2021.
Tottenham return to action following the international window against Chelsea on April 3.
Romero has made 112 appearances for Tottenham since joining from Atalanta, initially on loan, in August 2021.
This season he has been restricted to just 14 appearances in all competitions.
He has 40 caps for his country having made his debut back in June 2021 and was part of the squad that won the World Cup in 2022 and the Copa America twice, in 2021 and 2024.
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