Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Wed 1 April 2026 11:30, UK

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Cristian Romero would have hoped new Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi was watching on as Argentina beat Zambia 5-0 on Tuesday.

The Italian was appointed to replace interim manager Igor Tudor on Tuesday, and will take charge for the first time against Sunderland this month.

Romero will expect to start that game, and performances like his against Zambia will not hurt his chances.

Goal-scorers Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi, Nicolas Otamendi and Valentin Barco stole the headlines, with Dominic Chanda’s own-goal completing the scoresheet.

Romero’s Tottenham form has been called into question this season, but the defender could well be the difference between relegation and safety if De Zerbi gets the best out of him.

Argentine media laud Cristian Romero

Football Insider exclusively revealed in February that Tottenham were planning for life without Romero and Micky van de Ven, with both players unlikely to play in the Championship.

The Argentine is an excellent centre-back, and he showed that on Tuesday, but it would be fair to lay an equivalent part of the blame at his feet if the Lilywhites do go down.

The 27-year-old has made countless mistakes this season and was inexplicably sent off for an unnecessary challenge in February, earning himself a four-game ban.

Considering his public words against the Tottenham board, it would be unsurprising to see Romero depart this summer.

De Zerbi will hope to convince him otherwise, however, and his performance on Tuesday showed exactly why.

The defender completed an extraordinary 96 passes from 97 attempted against Zambia, and won nearly all of his duels.

Defensively, Romero was staggeringly good, winning six tackles and recording a stunning seven recoveries throughout the game.

Argentinian outlet TycSports rated the Tottenham man with a 6/10, and wrote: “Sober and confident at heart.”

What Romero has said about Tottenham future

It would be hard to accuse Romero of not caring about Tottenham, considering the defender’s clear passion for the club.

Recent performances have suggested that his motivation has waned, however, and it will be De Zerbi’s job to reignite him.

Whether the Italian can convince Romero to stay past this summer remains to be seen. “The truth is that I’m focused on the situation we’re in,” the defender said in March.

“I have a lot of respect and affection for the club and I want to finish the season in the best way possible. We’ll see later but the most important thing now is to recover energy to help Spurs.”

It is not hard to look at that and come to the conclusion that Romero is ready to leave North London this summer.

But two months is a long time in football, and a spirited battle for safety and the hope of a brighter future could go a long way.