Spurs international watch: South American duel | OneFootball

On Friday night, Tottenham Hotspur players Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero locked horns, as Uruguay hosted Argentina in World Cup qualifying. In the reverse fixture, back in the autumn of 2023, Uruguay condemned Argentina to their first defeat as champions of the world. In that game, Romero started, whilst Bentancur came on in the second half.

In this game, both players were named in the starting XI by their respective managers. As usual, Romero as the right sided central defender in a back four, whilst Bentancur played at the base of the Uruguay midfield.

How things played out when two Spurs players came up against each other

Throughout the first half, Argentina were the dominant side, though they could not make their superiority count, and the sides went into the break goalless. Then, midway through the second half, Romero’s side took the lead.

That goal would prove to be decisive – the only goal of the game – as Argentina took a big step towards World Cup qualification, whilst inflicting a bump in the road for Uruguay’s qualification, albeit they should still be fine in any case.

As for the Spurs players themselves, they both completed the 90 minutes. Romero completed; four clearances, one blocked shot, three interceptions, one tackle, 61 touches of the ball, and 2/2 aerial duels won. Most importantly, he did not pick up an injury.

Meanwhile, Bentancur recorded; 84 touches of the ball, 6/7 long balls completed, one shot blocked, 4/4 aerial duels won, two clearances, three interceptions, and one tackle.

This means Argentina have extended their lead over Uruguay to eight points now. They sit top of the CONMBEOL World Cup qualifying standings, with 28 points from their 13 games. Uruguay, who had sat in second place before this break, are now in fourth place – now below Ecuador and Brazil, and only ahead of Paraguay on goal difference – with 20 points from their 13 games.

Still, as touched on above, they should still be fine for qualification. With the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to 48, there are six automatic qualification places, with seventh place entering the inter confederation play offs. As it stands, Bentancur's side are currently seven points clear.

Next up for Argentina is a home game against Brazil on Wednesday, the 26th of March, at 00:00 GMT, whilst Uruguay face Bolivia away from home – in seriously high altitude, on Tuesday, the 25th of March, at 20:00 GMT. Bolivia are the side in seventh, so a win would be huge.