Cuti Romero likely benched for Argentina-Mexico, “fed up” with injury

This might be old news to most of you but it’s new to me, so with just over an hour before Argentina takes the field against Mexico in the World Cup, I’m writing it up anyway. According to Miguel Delaney writing in the Independent, Cuti Romero is likely going to be on the bench in today’s match. The reason? Romero just can’t shake the injury that has kept him on Tottenham Hotspur’s bench for the past couple of months.

Delaney says that Romero is reportedly “fed up” with his inability to get and stay fit, and this would track with how Cuti’s season has gone thus far. Romero has been... well, “off” is putting it mildly. He hasn’t played for Spurs a lot this season due to a niggling, and still undisclosed, injury and when he has played he’s looked like he’s carrying something that’s affecting his performance. We saw it too in Argentina’s World Cup opening loss to Saudi Arabia — Cuti was ostensibly at least partially culpable for the Saudi’s opening goal, and he certainly didn’t look his best.

At one level, this is obviously bad for Cuti who desperately wants to play in the World Cup. On the other hand, playing through injury isn’t good either, and if this is the catalyst for Cuti to finally get some extended rest so he can start the second half of the club season fit and healthy, well that’s a pretty okay outcome as well.

All of Argentina might get a forced rest after today’s match to Mexico — they could be eliminated from the World Cup with a loss.